The great Wednesday snowstorm cleanup begins

The snowstorm we have been dreading is over, but the cleanup will take a bit longer.

Snow started falling around 4 p.m. on Tuesday and transitioned to flurries this morning in Ottawa.

It was originally supposed to start dwindling away late this afternoon.

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Winter storm warnings have been lifted.

As of 11 a.m., 30 centimetres of snow had fallen at the Ottawa International Airport20 of that on Tuesday.

"Roads were definitely drivablefor the priority road network this morning," said BrydenDenyes, the City of Ottawa's area manager for core roads.

"The messaging for people to make alternate arrangements [to not come to work] definitely helped. More cars off the roads helps us clear the roads more efficiently."

Denyes said the city started plowing residential streets between 6:30 and 7 a.m.

"There's really no way to avoid having [snow piles] at the end of those roads," he said.

"We need to make sure the transit system is functioning and priority roads are workingWe try to getin as fast as we can to open [residential streets] up."

He said people should see a difference in the shape of residential streets andsidewalks by Thursday morning at the latest.

Many cancellations

Schools across Ottawa and many in the region are cancelled for Wednesday and many federal workers are being encouraged to work from home

Overnight parking bans are in place and public meetings are also postponed.

Waste pickup is postponed today in Ottawa and Gatineau.

The upside here is that temperatures will come up a bit.

Environment Canada is predicting a high of1 C, with an overnight low of11 C.

It clears up on Thursday, with a high of4 C, then snow comes back that night that will turn into rain on Friday.

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