Snow/Ice Weather Event – Spring 2025

From the City of Ottawa, compiled by the Ward 3 Office

Operations Update (March 29 - 11am)

How is it that March came in like a lion and it’s going out like a lion? That’s not how it’s supposed to be, right? Where’s the lamb? Whether it’s a lion or a lamb, the Roads and Parking Services team is ready to spring into action. And they did just that last night! Snow moved into the region as forecasted, and depending on what end of the city you are in, Ottawa received anywhere from 5 to 15 centimetres with higher amounts in localized areas. But it’s not over yet, after a break in precipitation today, a freezing rain event is on the way with ice pellets or freezing rain beginning early Sunday morning.

Forecast and conditions

Environment Canada’s Special Weather Statement remains in effect for the Ottawa region. A prolonged freezing rain event is expected to begin early Sunday morning and continue through to Sunday evening with ice accretion of 5 to 10 millimetres possible. A freezing rain warning may be required as the event draws near.

Be prepared to adjust to the changing conditions of the transportation network. Take extra care when walking, driving or cycling in affected areas. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery.

Our response

Today, crews will continue to clear and treat sidewalks, priority roads and the winter cycling network. Across the city and where required, crews will move into residential neighbourhoods this morning to clear and treat streets. Supervisors will continue to monitor the conditions of the transportation network throughout the day and into the overnight.

As the freezing rain moves in early tomorrow morning, our focus will be monitoring changing conditions and treating sidewalks, priority roads, bus routes, the Transitway and the winter cycling network.

Next steps

The Roads and Parking Services team will keep a close eye on the forecast as a freezing rain warning may be issued as tomorrow’s event draws close. Meanwhile, supervisors will continue to monitor the transportation network over the next 36 hours, and another update will be provided tomorrow.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we adjust our operations to respond to this spring snow/ice weather event.

Hydro Ottawa prepares for potential outages ahead of spring ice storm (March 28 - 1pm)

A potent spring ice storm is forecast to begin this evening and continue into Monday, March 31. Significant ice build-up is expected from freezing rain, with accretion of up to 10 mm, and possible snow accumulations of 10 to 15 cm, with the potential to bring trees and branches down on power lines and cause outages.

As always, Hydro Ottawa has crews on stand-by, ready to respond if necessary.

To keep our customers and the general public apprised, we have increased the number of social media posts on safety and outage preparedness, which will continue over the weekend.

In addition, we have added a storm alert banner on our outage map. We will also send out a Weather Watch notification to customers with email addresses on file, advising them of the possibility of extended power outages and how they can prepare.

Hydro Ottawa relies on customers to help pinpoint the cause of an outage. We appreciate your assistance in encouraging your constituents to report an outage or safety concern directly to us by:

• Submitting it online;

• Through the Hydro Ottawa app; 

• Texting “OUT” to PWROUT (797688); or

• Calling the 24/7 outage hotline at 613-738-0188.

Here are some safety tips you can share with residents:

• Remind constituents of the resources available on our Outage Safety and Emergency Preparedness pages; 

• Gather items for an emergency kit that includes things like: medicine, first aid supplies, flashlights, new batteries, a battery-operated radio, a manual can opener, canned food, bottled water, blankets, pet food, and important documents and telephone numbers;

• Charge mobile devices and laptops;

• For those requiring an uninterrupted supply of power for specialized medical equipment, ensure you have a back-up supply in place or a plan to relocate to a facility that can assist you;

• For those with mobile disabilities who live in a building that requires the use of an elevator, be sure to inform the building’s management that you may need assistance; and

• Install a backup power supply for your sump pump. This will help avoid flooding during power outages.

If outages occur, residents are advised to visit our Outage Map, which is updated every 15 minutes as new information comes in from our crews in the field. Estimated restoration times will be determined for each outage once damage has been assessed, and when it is safe for our crews to do so.

Update (March 28, 2025 - 11am)

Environment Canada has issued a Special Weather Statement for the Ottawa Region advising of a spring snow/ice weather event forecasted to arrive late Friday and last to Monday. This system is expected to bring snow, ice pellets and freezing rain. Local snowfall and ice pellet accumulations of 10 to 15 centimetres and ice accretion from the freezing rain between to 5 to 10 millimetres are possible. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways, and parking lots will become icy and slippery, and there is a possibility of power outages and tree damage from the ice accretion.

CURRENT CONDITIONS

Although there is increasing confidence in a widespread, prolonged freezing rain event, there is uncertainty around the types and amount of precipitation. Most relevant is the uncertainty about the amount of possible ice accretion for the Ottawa region. It is expected that more warnings will be issued as the event draws nearer. Given the current forecast, a Significant Weather Event may be declared as conditions become more certain.

OUR RESPONSE

In preparation for this spring snow/ice weather event, the City has escalated to a “Monitoring” stance.

As part of the Public Works Department’s preparedness work, Roads and Parking Services are preparing snow-clearing and salting equipment, filling salt domes and readying to deploy all resources. Parks Maintenance will also be out in full force, pre-salting City facility parking lots (with a priority on Fire and Paramedic stations), as well as lots serving recreation centres. Traffic Services will be monitoring traffic signals and managing mobility implications, with on-call personnel prepared for controller and signal issues. Forestry will monitor wind and ice accretion and is set to respond for downed trees and dangerous limbs.

The Freshet Task Force continues to monitor conditions for our local waterways and for the Ottawa River. Local waterways have stabilized over the last week but are expected to increase again. While widespread flooding is not anticipated, water levels and flows may increase with possible flooding in low-lying areas, including ditches, swales, and stormwater features. The Long Reach of the Rideau River (between Smiths Falls and Manotick) has been identified as an area where further melt and/or rainwater may result in flooding within low-lying areas. A sandbag filling station is available at the Roger Stevens works yard (2155 Roger Stevens Drive) for residents in this area. Similarly, although we are not expecting flooding along the Ottawa River at this time, sandbags remain available in locations across the city.

WHAT RESIDENTS CAN DO

• Are you ready? To help ensure your safety and the safety of your family, now is a good time prepare your emergency kit.

• Safety is a priority for our Public Works team, and we will be out in full force. Conditions will be hazardous, and residents are reminded to give yourself extra time and adjust to the conditions of the transportation network.

• At this time, there is no need to create a service request for routine snow clearing. Service requests should only be created for emergencies, such as downed tree limbs blocking sidewalks, roads or the cycling network.

• Exercise caution, especially with children and pets, when around waterways.

• Residents are encouraged to follow river reporting. Many useful links to forecasting partner websites can be found at River flooding | City of Ottawa.

NEXT STEPS

The City will monitor conditions throughout the weekend and is prepared to coordinate resident supports, if required. The Office of Emergency Management is liaising with local utility providers, among others, to facilitate coordination on issues such as potential power outages.

We appreciate your understanding and support as many of our Public Works crews necessarily pivot from pothole repairs and typical spring maintenance activities to respond to this weather event. As this system’s impact becomes clearer, we’ll provide more details on that response, as well as whether a Significant Weather Event will be declared.