Ottawa Weather Guide

Ottawa residents love to talk about the weather. Along with hockey and gas prices, it may be our favourite topic. This page includes a 7-day forecast, weather alerts, links to satellite and radar images, along with specialty forecasts.

Current conditions & forecast from Environment Canada

Detailed forecasts & conditions

Environment Canada
Weather Network
Weather Warnings
Ian Black's forecast (from CBC Ottawa)
ottawa.weatherstats.ca
Weather Underground
(also check out the full screen map)
AccuWeather.com (includes 10-day forecast)
CTV Ottawa Weather
Special Weather Statements (for Ontario)
School Bus Cancellations

Radar, satellite & more maps

A few radar links for tracking rain, snow and other precipitation:
Weather Network Radar
Franktown Radar (Environment Canada)
Montague, NY (National Weather Service - U.S.)
Intellicast radar map (North America)
Satellite Images (Environment Canada)

Jet Stream / North American Weather Systems (Environment Canada)
Lightning Activity (Environment Canada)

Air Quality Index from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. See also this chart showing hourly levels measured in downtown Ottawa.
Alternate links:
- Air Quality Health Index - Gatineau and Ottawa
- Weather Network Air Quality Forecast
Pollen Forecast (via The Weather Network)
Smog alerts (Ontario Ministry of the Environment)
UV Report (via The Weather Network)

Specialty Forecasts

Rideau Canal Skating Conditions
Ski 'n Ride Snowguide
This site is updated at least once a day with the latest ski conditions. There's also a swap shop, and links to "destination hills" around North America.
Ottawa Rink Conditions
Track the condition of outdoor ice rinks around Ottawa
Beach conditions
Mooney's Bay, Britannia Beach, Westboro Beac, Petrie Island — they're all great places to cool off on a warm summer day. Each day in the summer, health officials sample beach water to test for E.coli bacteria. When the bacteria count is too high, the beaches are closed. (Related: Ottawa Swimming Guide...)

Stats, info, and more

OttawaStart Blog: Weather
See also: Our blog posts about summer and winter and fall and spring
... as well as snow and sunsets
ottawa.weatherstats.ca (includes daily records - temperature & precipitation)
Britannia Yacht Club webcam (includes current conditions)
Hot Weather Resource Kit
Kanata Weather Observations
Meteorology.ca
National Climate Data and Information Archive
Nepean Sailing Club conditions
Ottawa River water levels
Sittsville Weather
Sunrise & sunset times
More outdoors / nature / astronomy links...

Ottawa Weather Records

Coldest day: -36.1ºC, February 15, 1943.
Hottest day: 37.8ºC, August 14, 1944.
Highest rainfall, one day: 135mm, September 9, 2004.
Highest snowfall, one day: 40.6cm, March 2, 1947.
Average maximum temperature: 10.7ºC
Average minimum temperature: 0.8ºC
Daily mean temperature: 5.8ºC
Average yearly rainfall: 701.8mm
Average yearly snowfall: 221.5cm
Source: National Climate Data and Information Archive

1998 Ice Storm

On January 4, 1998 the first drops of freezing rain started to fall in Eastern Canada. Ten centimetres of freezing rain fell in less than a week, destroying trees, grounding airplanes, and leaving over a million people without electricity. Check out the links below for more about the event.