Many city residents already had their snow tires removed and shovels packed away in anticipation of spring, but Mother Nature has hit the capital with one more blast of winter.
The snow the city received over the last two days isn’t out of the ordinary, said Environment Canada Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Peter Kimbell Tuesday.
“Normally in the month of April, Ottawa gets about 11 centimetres of snow,” said Kimbell.
The last big April snowfall was in 2002, when the city got almost 16 centimetres of snow in one day, he said.
Over the last two days, Ottawa has received between four to six centimetres, he said.
And we didn’t get the worst of it, he said.
A low-pressure system over Quebec resulted in snow for many areas of the province Monday and Tuesday, with southwestern Ontario taking the brunt of the storm with more than 20 centimetres in some parts.
While most of Ottawa’s snow won’t accumulate, it wreaked havoc with commuters Monday morning.
City paramedics responded to 18 calls for motor vehicle collisions with minor injuries within a four-hour span.
While there’s a possibility more snow may fall Wednesday, and temperatures will be chilly for the next several days, Kimbell said sunny skies with a high of nine degrees are forecasted for Easter weekend.
The bottom line?
“We’re not expecting another snowstorm in the near future,” Kimbell said. “We’re at Easter next week, so it’s a pretty good bet that we’re finished with the snow accumulation.”
