Ottawa

Rideau Canal Skateway closes due to warm, wet weather

The Rideau Canal Skateway closed again on Sunday due to a warm, wet forecast following the first weekend of Winterlude.

NCC says it temporarily closed the Canal as of late Sunday

Ice machines will likely be out on the Rideau Canal Monday - but skaters likely won't. The NCC has temporarily closed the Skateway as of 10 p.m. Sunday with temperatures above 0 C and rain expected overnight. (Michel Aspirot/CBC)

The Rideau Canal Skateway closed again late Sunday due to a warm, wet forecast following the first weekend of Winterlude.

With a forecasted overnight low of 6 C and rain expected along with it, the National Capital Commission temporarily closed the 7.4 kilometres of the Canal that were open earlier on Sunday.

There was no time given for the Skateway to reopen in Sunday evening's NCC news release, just that skaters will be able to return "as quickly as possible, as weather permits."

Temperatures are forecasted to drop to -12 C Monday night but they are expected to rise to 6 C again Wednesday.

This is the second time the Skateway has closed due to weather since it opened for the season on Jan. 23.

Most of it was open this weekend for the first weekend of Winterlude, a major tourist-attracting event in Ottawa-Gatineau.