Winter storm slows travel, cancels many school buses

Friday's winter storm that is expected to leave at least 15 centimetres of snow has cancelled school buses across eastern Ontario and led to warnings about road safety.

Winter storm warnings remain in effect for many communities along the Ottawa River, including Ottawa-Gatineau, Prescott-Russell, Lanark County and the Arnprior and Barry's Bay areas. Cornwall is also included.

In all, 15 to 25 centimetres of snow is expected in Ottawa before it tapers off as afternoon turns into evening. Cornwall may get slightly less.

The Bancroft and Pembroke areas have snowfall warnings.

Pembroke could get close to 15 centimetres of occasionally heavy snow, Bancroft could get 15 to 20. The snow is also expected to dwindle by evening.

There are special weather statements about snow Friday along Lake Ontario.

About 10 more centimetres of it are expected, possibly with a little less closer to Belleville and a little more near Brockville.

Travel concerns, delays

The weather station at Ottawa's main airport has reported light snow or light freezing drizzle since early Thursday morning, with 11 centimetres falling Thursday. It had three centimetres all month before that.

"Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve," Environment Canada wrote in the warning.

"Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow."

School bus cancellations cover English and French schools in Ottawa, the surrounding area including Renfrew County and the Kingston and Belleville area.

Many bus transportation agencies say schools remain open; check with your board or school for the specific options it's offering.

Western Quebec's school board and service centres say buses are running, but delays are possible because of the snow.

The City of Ottawa issued a daytime winter parking ban from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, with its usual exceptions for some permit holders and areas.

OC Transpo says to expect some delays and that it's taking its longer articulated buses off the roads when possible.

The Ottawa International Airport Authority says it's seeing some delays and reminds people to check on their flight before coming there.

Ottawa started Friday at –1 C and its temperature is expected to slowly drop as the day goes along to an overnight low of –9 C. Saturday and Sunday's temperatures are expected to be around the mid-January average of –6 C at the warmest and –16 C at the coldest.