Rain, snow expected to soak Ottawa and area this week

The Ottawa area isin for a soaking this week thanks to a low-pressure system moving northeast from the U.S., forecasters say.

Environment Canada has issuedspecial weather statementscovering all of eastern Ontario and most of western Quebec, warning of an early spring storm that could bring rain and even snow to the region. The only exception is Quebec's Mont-Laurier region.

On Tuesday afternoon, forecasters issued a snowfall warning for a large areawest of Ottawa, from Smiths Falls to Algonquin Park. That region could see rain starting Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, followed by between 15 and 30 centimetres of snow starting Wednesday afternoon and tapering off Thursday.

Local power outages are possible, and travel could become difficult in some areas due to the rapid accumulation of heavy, wet snow and reduced visibility.

Rain is expected to start falling Tuesday morning in the Belleville area,with 25 to 50 millimetres possible by Wednesday afternoon. Trace amounts of snow could follow and overnight wind gusts could hit 80 kilometres an hour.

The rain is expected to begin in earnest Tuesday nightwest of Ottawa, spreading to the capital and regions to the south and east by Wednesday morning.

Ottawa, Kingston and Cornwall could see "significant" snow by Wednesday night.

Western Quebec could also get 10 to 20 centimetres of snow after a spell of rain or slushy precipitationWednesday afternoon.

Environment Canada issuessnowfall warningswhen at least 15 centimetres are forecast within 12 hours.

Dry start to spring

It's been a dry, warm winter and early spring, with Ottawa firefighters recently responding to an average of onebrush fire a day.

Ottawa's had double-digit snowfalls over two days just four times this winter, led by about 19 centimetres Jan. 12 and 13. That city got a total of about 20 centimetres in February and March.

Measurements taken at the Ottawa International Airport showed just under 40 millimetres of precipitation last month.

After a high of 12 C Tuesday, daytime temperatures are expected to slip tocolder than average Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Forecasthighs range from 1 to 6 C.