Ottawa Road Conditions and Driving Weather

4 current reports on the interstates around Ottawa. The 3 most serious are listed below. Always check with Ontario 511 before setting off.

• Lanes blocked

  Incident on HWY 417 Eastbound

  Disabled Vehicle on HWY 417 Eastbound at BELFAST RD, Ottawa. Left shoulder and 1 left lane closed.

  Eastbound • ON • Ongoing Details

• Restriction

  Road work on HWY 417 Westbound

  Daily Construction on HWY 417 Westbound Off-ramp at RICHMOND RD (IC 130)/BAYSHORE DR, Ottawa. 1 Alternating Lane(s).

  Westbound • ON • Until Nov 27, 1:00 PM Details

• Restriction

  Road work on HWY 417 Eastbound

  Daily Construction on HWY 417 Eastbound Off-ramp at HOLLY ACRES RD EXIT E/B (IC 130), Ottawa. 1 Left Lane(s).

  Eastbound • ON • Until Oct 1, 3:00 AM Details

Routes out of Ottawa

The four ways out of the city that matter in winter, with the distance and the clear-road time measured over openrouteservice, and what each one does to you when the weather turns.

• East on Highway 417 to the Quebec line and Montreal — 202 km, about 2 h 25 min on a clear road. The 417 across the open country east of Orléans, where the wind drifts it shut, then Autoroute 40 into Quebec, where winter tires become the law from 1 December. Conditions along the whole of Highway 417.
• South on Highway 416 to the 401 and Kingston — 200 km, about 2 h 25 min on a clear road. Through Kemptville to the 401 at Johnstown, then west along the St. Lawrence: the Lake Ontario squalls begin around Gananoque.
• West on Highway 417 and 17 to Arnprior and Pembroke — 151 km, about 1 h 55 min on a clear road. Up the Ottawa Valley: four lanes to Arnprior, two beyond, and the valley's own cold — the coldest air in eastern Ontario pools here on a clear night. Conditions along the whole of Highway 417.
• West to Toronto by Highway 7 — 408 km, about 5 h 45 min on a clear road. The two-lane road through Perth, Kaladar and Peterborough across the snowbelt of the Canadian Shield, shorter than the 401 and slower, with fewer places to stop.

What makes winter driving hard in Ottawa

Snow, and a lot of it. Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm averages 176 cm a year on 52 days — more than any other big city in the country and 60% more than Toronto — with 17 cm on the ground on a typical January day and five months from November to March that each bring 10 cm or more. The season is longer as well as deeper: the first plowable snowfall comes in November and the last in April.

Cold that holds it. January averages −10.2 °C with a mean overnight low of −14.4 °C and 23 days that never rise above freezing, so the snow that falls stays: residential streets are packed snow from December to March, and the ruts and the ice at the intersections are the winter surface, not a storm's.

The freezing rain. The Ottawa Valley pools cold air, and a warm front riding over it puts down ice rain rather than snow — seven freezing-rain days on average between December and February, more than Toronto or London — and the 1998 ice storm is the city's memory of what that can become. Highway 417, the Queensway, is the Province's road and is reported on Ontario 511; Highway 174 and the streets are the City's.

Snow and ice by month in Ottawa

Thirty-year normals from Environment and Climate Change Canada's station at Ottawa (Central Experimental Farm), 5 km from the city centre. Averages for 1981–2010; a normal month, not this month.

Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010, station OTTAWA CDA (6105976), 79 m, through the MSC GeoMet API.

Municipal snow clearing in Ottawa

The City of Ottawa works to Council-approved winter maintenance quality standards by class of road. Highway 174, the Transitway, major roads and arterials are cleared two to four hours after the last snowflake falls; secondary roads and minor collectors within six; residential roads and lanes in ten to sixteen. Residential service begins once 7 cm or more has fallen. The Queensway is the Province's.

Parking bans

Between 15 November and 1 April the City may declare a winter weather parking ban when Environment Canada forecasts 7 cm of snow or more, or freezing rain. Overnight bans run from 7 pm to 7 am and are announced to residents by 9 am the same day.

The current plan, the map of routes and any ban in force are on ottawa.ca, snow plowing and clearing ↗, which is where this section was read.

Provincial rules that apply in Ottawa

Ontario has no winter tire law. The province recommends them — its winter driving page says they improve traction in frost, snow and ice and shorten braking distances by as much as 25% — and requires insurers to offer a discount to drivers who fit them, and that is the whole of the rule. Studded tires are the exception: legal on vehicles registered in Northern Ontario, not in the south.

The full rule, with its sources, is on the Ontario page. What is closed right now is on Ontario 511 ↗.

Related roads

Ottawa Winter Driving FAQ

Is Ottawa the snowiest big city in Canada?

On the 1981–2010 normals it is: 176 cm a year at the Central Experimental Farm on 52 days with snow, against Toronto Pearson's 108 cm, Edmonton International's 118 and Calgary's 129. A typical January day in Ottawa has 17 cm of snow on the ground.

How long does Ottawa to Montreal take in winter?

About 200 km and 2 h 25 min on a clear road as openrouteservice measures it, downtown to downtown, on Highway 417 and Autoroute 40. From 1 December to 15 March your car needs winter tires in Quebec by law — the rule begins at the provincial line.

When does Ottawa declare a winter parking ban?

Between 15 November and 1 April, when Environment Canada forecasts 7 cm of snow or more, or freezing rain. Overnight bans run 7 pm to 7 am and are announced by 9 am that day, so the plows can clear the residential streets that get service once 7 cm has fallen.

Do I need winter tires in Ottawa?

Not by Ontario law, but the capital is the strongest case for them in the province: 176 cm of snow a year, 23 January days below freezing and packed-snow streets from December to March. Every insurer must offer a discount if you fit them, and across the river in Gatineau they are compulsory from 1 December.

Who clears the Queensway?

The Province of Ontario — Highway 417 is a provincial highway, maintained by its contractors and reported on Ontario 511. The City of Ottawa's standards cover Highway 174, the Transitway and the city streets, from two to four hours for the arterials to sixteen for a residential lane.