Freezing Rain Forces School Closures and Bus Cancellations

On Wednesday, the icy weather prompted almost all school buses to be cancelled and some schools closed entirely across eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

Freezing rain was predicted to begin early in the morning and persist throughout most of the day, resulting in orange-level warnings regarding hazards for the Ottawa-Gatineau area, including potential utility outages and damage to property.

Travel that isn’t necessary is not advised.

By around 6 a. m., the storm began affecting western areas like Pembroke and Bancroft. It reached downtown Ottawa at approximately 8:30 a. m., but there it mostly fell as rain during the morning, unlike the more icy regions further north and west.

Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, mentioned just before noon that Barry’s Bay and the upper Ottawa Valley were among the hardest-hit locations. Southern Quebec had experienced hours of freezing rain by that time.

An early afternoon lull could occur before another wave of freezing rain arrives later in the afternoon, he said, while dropping temperatures might freeze any standing water.

A wet Highway 17 near Petawawa around 10:15 a. m. Wednesday morning (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario)

All schools are shut down in western Quebec and Renfrew County. There are also closures for schools north of Kingston-Belleville as well as some private institutions in Outaouais.

Algonquin College has cancelled its in-person classes for Wednesday. The only buses running are those in the Kingston-Belleville area, which is under a rainfall warning instead.

Please check with your school or board for updates about what happens when there are no buses or classes.

The Ottawa International Airport Authority reported at 5:45 a. m. Wednesday that around 50 flights had been cancelled. Via Rail indicated possible weather delays between Kingston and Quebec City.

No widespread local power outages were reported by noon. Approximately 6,000 customers were without power in western Quebec while another 3,100 experienced outages in Bancroft area.

You can find additional cancellations at the end of this story.

The forecast

Environment Canada anticipates two to three centimetres of freezing rain on Wednesday for an area stretching from Gatineau northward to Maniwaki and east toward Montreal region.

The remainder of western Quebec and northern eastern Ontario-including Ottawa-might see one or two centimetres of freezing rain based on their warnings.

This amount of freezing rain does not necessarily mean that’s how much ice will actually accumulate according to Environment Canada.</P

The warning covering eastern Ontario affects communities located north of Highway 7, then further north along St. Lawrence River until reaching Cornwall; it suggests that a mix of rain and freezing rain may fall particularly over areas farther south.</P

This storm could resemble April’s ice storm from 2023 that impacted this region according to Eric Tomlinson, an Environment Canada warning preparedness meteorologist.

Hundreds of thousands lost power during that storm which Hydro Ottawa labeled as the worst ice storm since 1998.

Communities southward should expect rainfall amounts between 20 to 40 millimetres.

Areas lying northeast or eastward from Kingston may experience shifts between rainfall types including both regular rainfall as well as freezing precipitation.

A yellow-level freezing rain alert exists right below orange warnings impacting towns such as Brockville along with Tweed.

Just beneath this less severe alert lies one announcing rainfall for Mallorytown alongside surrounding regions like Belleville plus Kingston.

Temperatures around Ottawa-Gatineau are expected remain close to zero degrees Celsius from Tuesday night until Thursday.

Orange alerts sit centrally on Environment Canada’s three-colour scale indicating unusually intense weather likely causing major disruptions. WATCH | More on this past autumn’s changes:

How Environment Canada’s new weather warning system works

Environment and Climate Change Canada has changed how it categorizes its weather alerts. CBC Meteorologist Ryan Snoddon explains it’s all about risk and impact.

Ways to prepare

The City of Ottawa suggests getting ready for extreme conditions by having emergency supplies like non-perishable food items along with batteries sufficient for three days’ needs available at hand

Your vehicle should carry essentials such as booster cables plus battery packs first-aid kits sand or kitty litter useful traction flashlights blankets needed when stranded

You can take precautions against carbon monoxide poisoning too

More Wednesday cancellations

The closures northward from Kingston-Belleville include Our Lady Of Mercy Catholic School St Martin Of Tours Catholic School North Hastings Public Schools North Addington Education Centre Clarendon Central Public School

<P Outaouais private school shutdowns consist Of Collège St Joseph In Hull Collège Saint Alexandre Montessori School In Chelsea

Museums focusing On agriculture aviation science closed likewise so did Camp Fortune Edelweiss ski resorts Additionally networks For trails within Gatineau Park remain inaccessible currently

<P All branches belonging To Ottawa Public Library remained shut down Throughout Wednesday morning meanwhile Gatineau decided To temporarily halt operations At Its Aylmer Buckingham service centers Due To insufficient staffing caused By inclement Weather conditions

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