Everything you need to know for one of Ottawa's largest snowfalls

Get ready for whiteout conditions: The snow is coming and it will blanket the streets of the Capital on Thursday morning. Environment Canada says anywhere from 30 to 40 centimetres of snow could fall in an 18-hour period — though more is also possible. The “highly impactful winter storm” will begin around 9:00 p.m. and last until around 4:00 p.m. Thursday. Some periods of freezing drizzle are also possible in the afternoon — particularly along the Seaway. 

• Temperatures will hover around -13 feeling more like -23 with the windchill at its peak. Moderate winds will blow the snow, which will be like powder because of the cold temperatures. During the height of the storm, 5 centimetres will fall every hour. 

School bus cancellations: As a result the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority has already announced school buses won’t be running on Thursday for the English and French public and Catholic school boards. For now, all schools remain open. 

Reduction of city bus service: OC Transpo says it’s implementing a severe storm schedule for buses on Thursday. O-Train Line 1, Line 2 and Line 4 will continue to run on its normal weekday schedule. The transit organization says most routes will be affected by the schedule adjustments, which include reduced or modified trips. Some will not run at all. That includes the 600-series school bus routes and any school trips on regular routes. 

OC Transpo also says it’s pulling its articulated buses from the roads which will be replaced with 40-foot and double-decker buses to “improve service reliability.”  You might recall back in 2016 when Ottawa was blanketed with about 50 centimeters of snow, many of the longer buses got stuck in snowbanks, particularly at the corner of Meadowlands and Chesterton. 

Impact for post secondary students: Carleton University said it’s actively monitoring the situation and the campus will remain in operation — at least for now. The university will assess the situation early tomorrow morning and will provide an update to the campus community by 6 a.m. 

Algonquin College sent out a similar memo stating it plans to be open tomorrow and students would be notified through email if there were any changes. 

Here’s how the city is responding: The City of Ottawa has declared a Significant Weather Event. While crews will be out maintaining the city’s sidewalks, roads and the winter cycling network, it will take longer than usual to restore them to regular conditions.

Overnight and daytime parking bans: There will be two back-to-back winter weather parking bans called. The first will be in effect from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 13. The second will be in effect from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, February 14.

During winter weather parking bans, residents will have access to select OC Transpo park and rides as well as certain recreation centres. Some City parking garages are available for parking during winter parking bans, however, it is important that residents take note of what time they need to remove their car. Visit ottawa.ca/winterparking for more information about which City facilities are available during winter weather parking bans.

More storm changes

• Mavericks Donuts says all of its locations will be closed on Thursday and will reopen on Friday for Valentine’s Day. 

• A public consultation on the Greenbank road realignment which was scheduled to be held at St. Joseph High School in Barrhaven has been postponed. A new date will be chosen soon. 

• The City of Ottawa is cancelling all of its recreation and culture programs on Thursday. That includes before/after school programs, rentals, museums, theatres, and drop-in activities. 

• For anyone commuting by plane, The Ottawa International Airport Authority said airlines have consolidated some flights on Wednesday evening and Thursday "to alleviate startup operations in the morning." 

So how will this snow storm compare to others seen previously? 

By the numbers: Ottawa’s biggest February snowfall in recorded history occurred in 2016 when 51.2 centimetres of snow fell. Here is a look back at how the city responded. The second place occurred in 1876 when 50.8 centimetres was recorded. If an estimated 32 centimetres falls tomorrow, it will tie in 10th place alongside the year 1932. 

• The big snow accumulation comes just days after it was announced this past January was only the fourth time in recorded history Ottawa has had less than 23.6 mm of precipitation fall during the month. 

More snow is on the way: This won’t be all the snow Ottawa is getting this week. Environment Canada says another 15 to 20 centimeters will fall on Saturday through to Sunday.