Send this page to someone via email After Ottawa briefly claimed the title of chilliest capital city in the world and withstood its coldest snowstorm in decades over the weekend, an extreme cold warning for the city remains in effect on Monday, with Environment Canada predicting only a “brief relief” from the frigid temperatures mid-week. The temperature with wind chill is forecasted to remain between -35 C and -40 C throughout Monday morning, rising to near -30 C in the afternoon, Environment Canada says. WATCH: Winter storm, extreme cold weather warnings across Eastern Canada (Jan. 20) 2:40 Winter storm, extreme cold weather warnings across Eastern Canada Winter storm, extreme cold weather warnings across Eastern Canada – Jan 20, 2019 The agency’s two-word recommendation for today: “Cover up.” Story continues below advertisement Frostbite can develop “within minutes” on exposed skin in these glacial temperatures, Environment Canada warned. Ottawa’s public health agency also suggests residents dress in layers to protect skin from wind and moisture. Environment Canada warns the risk of frostbite and hypothermia are greater for “young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter.” The weather agency also cautions against leaving your pet outside for too long. READ MORE: Volunteers help the homeless stay warm as Ontario endures extreme cold weather While Ottawa is currently colder than places like Greenland and the South Pole, areas in northern Ontario and the northern tip of the country and are measuring lower than -40 C without wind chill, Environment Canada meteorologist Marie-Eve Giguère. According to WorldAtlas, Ottawa is on average the seventh coldest capital in the world, while the coldest is Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Relief on Wednesday, Thursday will be ‘brief’: EC meteorologist Environment Canada forecasts that temperatures in Ottawa will fall close to -25 C again on Monday night (with wind chill expected near -35) before a “milder air mass” moves in on Tuesday, providing some reprieve from the deep freeze on Wednesday and Thursday. Story continues below advertisement That relief, however, will be “brief,” Giguère said, and residents should be prepare for frigid temperatures again this weekend and throughout the rest of January. Wind chill is expected to measure at -34 Tuesday morning and rise to -15 in the afternoon, rising again to -13 overnight. Some snow is forecasted for Wednesday, with a high of 0 C during the day and a chance of flurries on Thursday with a high of -7 C. Temperatures are forecasted to plummet once more to -23 C on Friday night, Environment Canada says. Last weekend’s cold snowstorm ‘rare’ A significant dump of snow accompanied Ottawa’s extreme cold temperatures over the weekend — which Giguère described as an “unusual” combination. “It doesn’t happen often; it’s rare,” she said. WATCH: Southern Ontario digging out after winter storm (Jan. 20) 1:44 Southern Ontario digging out after winter storm Southern Ontario digging out after winter storm – Jan 20, 2019 The Environment Canada meteorologist said the last recorded snowstorm with similar characteristics in the region was on Jan. 10, 1977 — 42 years ago. Story continues below advertisement Extremely cold snowstorms like this are rare because as the temperature drops, the air holds less and less water and therefore produces smaller and smaller snowflakes, Global News’ chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell explained. “It becomes harder to get significant snowfall,” he said. “This weekend was a rare occurrence where Ottawa was at the intersection where cold Arctic air was anchored in place while moisture streamed north from the Gulf of Mexico.” Police say driving conditions poor; school buses delayed The snowfall and extreme cold since Friday have caused poor driving conditions on Ottawa’s roads. The Ontario Provincial Police’s detachment in Ottawa reported on Monday that officers responded to 82 collisions on highways within the city between Friday evening and Monday morning. The road conditions early Monday morning also contributed to many delays along school bus routes for English schools in the national capital, with some buses running up to an hour behind. The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) didn’t cancel any bus routes but school boards in regions surrounding the city of Ottawa did. Ottawa-area MPP Lisa MacLeod and other parents argued on social media that OSTA should have cancelled buses given the delays and extreme cold temperatures. Story continues below advertisement “I think it’s incumbent upon OSTA … to look at the weather, understand that kids are more at risk (of) frostbite during this situation,” MacLeod told Global News in Toronto on Monday. “I think children’s safety ought to come first and it’s very disappointing.” Vicky Kyriaco, general manager and chief administrative officer for OSTA, said the cold temperatures Ottawa is experiencing are “not unusual” for the city in the wintertime and Monday’s circumstances were not ones under which the authority would’ve normally cancelled routes. “Our expectation for parents is that they’ll make the arrangements, just either stay with their kids or supervise them at the stops, bundle them up, make alternative arrangements if they’re concerned about the service,” Kyriaco said. “For us to simply cancel buses didn’t really make sense in the grand scheme of things.” She said the roadways were “reasonably clear” but still slick, which slowed traffic and “slowed down the system.” Kyriaco said OSTA hasn’t yet had a discussion about the status of school bus routes on Tuesday morning. My annual shaking my head at @OttSchoolBus decision making is officially today. — Lisa MacLeod (@MacLeodLisa) January 21, 2019 @OttSchoolBus I’m a student of Saint Paul Catholic Highschool and I will keep my name to myself but why was there school today? Our bus alone was 30 minutes late in -40 and wasn’t notified till the bus came. I only have so much space to type so that’s all I have to say. Thank you — Absolutes (@StarWarsMemesz) January 21, 2019 Definition of dangerously unhelpful: Receiving an email from @OttSchoolBus at 10:17 am advising that the school bus that usually arrives at 8:15 am will be 30 min late. On a day where it's -37. Good thing we decided to drive the kids at that stop, eh? #fail cc @NotreDameOCSB — Doré Charbonneau (@Golden2One) January 21, 2019 Story continues below advertisement @OttSchoolBus BAD CALL TODAY. 30 mins outside with small children in this weather. You are looking for trouble with this one. Horrible decision whomever made it — Heidi Gannon (@GannonHeidi) January 21, 2019 —With a file from Mike Armstrong in Montreal<doc-sep>All week, pedestrians have had to wade down snow-clogged sidewalks and scramble over neck-high drifts. Cars and trucks that weren't stuck in winter gridlock fishtailed around icy corners, while transit users waiting for late buses considered themselves lucky when their routes weren't cancelled altogether. Winter happens in Ottawa, but city officials are describing this week's conditions as a perfect storm, and are warning residents it's not over yet. "That is definitely not normal," said Bryden Denyes, the city's manager for core roads. "With the extreme cold temperatures and then the snow, it poses challenges for us getting the snow [cleared]." Road salt is also less effective when temperatures dip below –18 C, Denyes said. 'As fast as we were clearing the snow, it was building up' CBC News Ottawa 0:35 Bryden Denyes, manager of core roads for the City of Ottawa, describes efforts to keep roads and sidewalks clear during the prolonged winter storm. 0:35 In a major snowstorm, plows tackle priority roads and bike lanes before moving on to residential roads and sidewalks. But with snow coming down has heavily as it has, Denyes said it can be difficult just trying to figure out where the plows have already been. "As fast as we were plowing the snow, it was building up right away after," he said. "We just continually cycle our equipment on roads and sidewalks and the winter cycling network as fast as we can." The difficult conditions have meant slow and slippery commutes for drivers, with more than a dozen ending up in ditches. Major Delays on most routes and all Para Transpo trips can be expected, due to snow and heavy traffic. —@OCTranspoLive The snow's had a major effect on OC Transpo as well. On Wednesday, the transit agency cancelled a number of buses and confirmed that nearly every route was experiencing weather-related delays. Tow trucks were called in to pull buses up hills Wednesday afternoon because they couldn't make it on their own. Elsewhere, stalled buses blocked traffic, slowing down the entire transit system. Tow trucks were pressed into service Wednesday when OC Transpo buses encountered difficulty making it up an incline on Lees Avenue. (Laura Osman/CBC) One transit user captured the scene at Blair station this morning, where bus service ground to a halt as crowds amassed on the platform. @OCTranspoLive bus stuck in snow. No buses moving at Blair Station 😭 pic.twitter.com/NhvVmBNSXM —@foodianqueen The good news: the snowfall is nearly behind us. The bad news: that snow will turn to freezing rain, ensuring conditions remain miserable for commuters. Then the temperature will warm up just enough to melt the precipitation before the city falls back into a deep freeze by Thursday afternoon. In other words, buckle up a week of perfectly awful commutes.<doc-sep>
Send this page to someone via email After a frigid stretch in Canada’s capital city, Environment Canada has ended an extreme cold warning for the city of Ottawa but warns that freezing rain may hit the area on Wednesday. Tuesday morning kicked off with glacial wind chills near -35 C, which prompted the weather agency to initially maintain the extreme cold warning that had been in effect for several days. Temperatures will “slowly rise” as the day goes on, with snow predicted for Tuesday night and lasting into Wednesday, the weather agency said. The national weather agency has predicted the middle of the week will bring “brief relief” from the extreme cold, but the milder temperatures and snowfall on Wednesday might morph into freezing rain later in the day. Story continues below advertisement “Snowfall amounts will range from five to 10 centimetres over the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Valley areas, with 10 to 15 centimetres expected further west towards Georgian Bay,” Environment Canada said. WATCH: Kingston area deals with worst winter storm of the season 2:04 Kingston area deals with worst winter storm of the season Kingston area deals with worst winter storm of the season – Jan 21, 2019 Driving conditions are expected to be poor, the agency added. Ottawa police warned on Tuesday morning that roads throughout the national capital are “very slippery,” adding shortly after 10:30 a.m. that officers have responded to 71 collisions since 5 a.m. “We’ve seen most collision being slip-outs, or sliding into each other,” the Ottawa Police Service tweeted. “Please give yourself some room, and take your time.” READ MORE: Volunteers help the homeless stay warm as Ontario endures extreme cold weather School buses are running in Ottawa but several agencies around Ottawa cancelled service for the second day in a row. Story continues below advertisement We are now at 71 collisions since 5 a.m. today.#otttraffic https://t.co/pYOi00wWiW — Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) January 22, 2019