A light snow on Christmas Eve ahead of Ottawa's white Christmas

Snow in the ByWard Market on Dec. 24, 2024. (CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa woke up to a postcard perfect Christmas Eve after 14 centimetres of snow fell on the city on Monday.

Light snow kept falling Tuesday morning, making the city seem like a Currier and Ives lithograph. It can be assumed at least one snowman was built in a meadow, though it's unclear which religious figure it might represent or whether it was interested in the marital status of the builders.

Ottawa police said they responded to 16 collisions since midnight on Ottawa roads as the snow fell. Ontario Provincial Police responded to 40 in the Ottawa area.

The forecast for Christmas Eve in Ottawa has light snow ending around noon. The high is -8 C with a wind chill around -13.

Expect a partly cloudy sky overnight as Santa Claus arrives with a low of -16 C and a wind chill of -20.

Christmas comes with a mix of sun and cloud and a high of -8 C. The wind chill will be around -19 in the morning and -13 in the afternoon.

A white Christmas is officially defined as having at least 2 cm of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. Christmas Day. Ottawa has more than enough snow this year to qualify for the status after a seeing just a light dusting on Christmas Day 2023.

Boxing Day is looking sunny with a high of -10 C.