10 cm of snow blankets Ottawa, slowing down commute on Wednesday

Ontario Provincial Police say officers responded to "numerous collisions" during Wednesday's winter storm, including this six-car collision on Highway 417 near Hunt Club Road. (OPP/X)

The largest snowfall of 2025 hit Ottawa on Wednesday, forcing the cancellation of school buses and slowing down the commute across the national capital region.

Ontario Provincial Police and the Ottawa Police Service responded to several crashes on roads on Wednesday, while OC Transpo warned of delays on due to heavy snow.

“Ottawa OPP has been busy responding to numerous collisions today along Highway 416 and 417, the OPP said on X.

“That includes this six-car collision near Hunt Club in the east end of Ottawa. Thankfully there were no serious injuries. Slow down and drive according to conditions.”

The OPP said there were approximately 100 collisions across eastern Ontario between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Ottawa police responded to 32 collisions on city roads.

The storm forced school bus cancellations for all schools in Ottawa and eastern Ontario, and the O-Train was out of service between St. Laurent and Blair stations for several hours after a crash caused a gas leak near Blair Station.

“Unfortunately, the bulk of the snow came right around 3 a.m., 4 a.m., which definitely had an impact on the morning commute for everybody,” said City of Ottawa Special Operations manager Bryden Denyes. “Our resources were all out deployed. Our goal was to try and get as much salt down and give it a good scrape before that morning rush hour commute... Unfortunately, as soon as traffic started slowing down, all of our resources are stuck in traffic at the same time. So, it delays us getting through and finishing up that that last bit of cleanup before the storm ends.”

An amount of 10 centimetres of snow was recorded at the Ottawa Airport since the storm began last night. Environment Canada says the capital received 2.2 cm of snow Tuesday night and 7.6 cm of snow Wednesday..

In Gatineau, an amount of 11 cm of snow was recorded since last night, according to the weather agency.

Environment Canada had issued a winter weather travel advisory for Ottawa, calling for snow, heavy at times, through the day. The advisory was lifted at 11 a.m.

The City of Ottawa says its crews have been working to clear snow off the 13,000 lane kilometres of roadway and over 2,500 kilometres of sidewalks.

“Last night, once accumulation began, crews were deployed to clear and treat sidewalks, priority roads, bus routes, the Transitway and the winter cycling network,” the city said on its website.

“Today, crews will make their way into residential neighbourhoods and continue throughout the day and into the evening. The nightshift will be back in overnight to clean up any problem areas such as bus stops, crosswalks, intersections, pedestrian islands, corners and cul de sacs.”

While there is no winter weather parking ban, Denyes said moving your car off the street would help.

“If residents can help move their vehicles off the street when we’re plowing it will help us get through our beats quicker and then a more efficient manner,” he said.

Ottawa weather

Mainly cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of flurries. High -8 C, with the wind chill making it feel like -18.

Partly cloudy tonight with a 40 per cent chance of evening flurries. Low -21 C, with the wind chill making it feel like -28.

Thursday will see a mix of sun and cloud with a 30 per cent chance of flurries. High -7 C.

Environment Canada is calling for periods of snow Thursday night.

Friday will be cloudy with a 40 per cent chance of flurries. High 1 C.

The outlook for Saturday calls for sunshine and a high of -11 C.

The normal temperatures for this time of year are a high of -6 C and a low of -15 C.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Katelyn Wilson