Rideau Canal Skateway prep on hold as temperatures warm up
Just as National Capital Commission crews were seeing progress in the
annual preparation of the Rideau Canal Skateway
, a Chinook-like warm weather front is expected to hit the Ottawa area to put things on hold.
Environment Canada is forecasting high temperatures well above freezing for the next three days.
The agency is calling for highs of 4 C Wednesday, 5 C on Thursday and 7 C on Friday.
The Wednesday forecast is for mainly cloudy skies with a chance of showers. Thursday looks like a mix of sun and cloud, while flurries or showers are forecast for Friday.
Overnight lows are expected to drop to about -11 C, with windchill effect making it feel like -15 or so.
The outlook for Saturday calls for a mix of sun and cloud with a 40 per cent chance of flurries.
The National Capital Commission, which
operates and maintains the Skateway
said earlier this week that preparation was well underway, although they were aware of a possible thaw this week.
Ice preparation had been proceeding well before the temperatures climbed, NCC spokesperson Maryam El-Akhrass said in a release Wednesday.
“Early December’s consistently cold temperatures provided an excellent start for ice-building operations on
. This allowed our teams to successfully flood the ice surface twice, from the Bank Street Bridge to Patterson Creek on Sunday, and all the way to” the Laurier access point on Monday, El-Akhrass said.
“Operations will resume as soon as possible, once we get a few consecutive days of cold.
“In the meantime, we ask the public to stay off the ice until the Skateway officially opens, for everyone’s safety and to help our operations.”
The earliest opening of the Skateway was Dec.18 in 1972, and again in 1981.
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