Snow, freezing rain causing chaos on Ottawa-area roadways

Officials are busy responding to collisions on Monday afternoon as more wet weather moves into the nation’s capital.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) urged motorists to stay off the roads after they reported “numerous” collisions around the region. One problem, officers note, is Highway 401 near Brockville where multiple crashes have occurred.

Just east of of Highway 416 on the 401 a jackknifed tractor-trailer is blocking the lanes.

Environment Canada is noting freezing rain could be in the forecast on Monday. A low-pressure system is moving in from southern Ontario that could bring mixed precipitation to Ottawa, the weather agency says. There could be up to 5 centimetres of snow by Monday night with the possibility of it turning to freezing rain.

“As temperatures are expected to remain near the freezing mark there is a potential for freezing drizzle through the overnight hours into Tuesday morning,” a special weather statement for Ottawa reads.

The wind chill is lowering temperatures for the start of the week, with a low of -14 C on Monday and overnight. By Tuesday morning the wind will die down making Ottawa feel around -6 C with a high of 3 C.

This comes after a rather snowy weekend where police were out responding to a number of collisions. In a post on X, the OPP said they noted a crash involving a snowplow.

“The snowfall is heavy and accumulating quickly,” police said Dec. 7. “If you don’t need to go out, stay home.”

The next day, as roads continued to be plowed, and the “terrible winter driving conditions” continued, according to one OPP officer, a person was caught driving after having a few too many drinks.

Police issued a three-day driving suspension and towed their vehicle.

Firefighters were also out with the ice rescue teams for multiple dogs that had gone through the ice accumulating on the banks of the Ottawa River.

“A reminder to please keep your dogs on a leash near any waterways,” crews said in a post.