Ottawa was under about 15 centimetres of snow Thursday morning, and the cleanup is costing the city about $1 million, according to road maintenance manager Dan O'Keefe.

The city sent out about 500 pieces of snow clearing equipment, and they were still out there well into Wednesday evening and again on Thursday morning.

Environment Canada is predicting another two to four centimetres will fall Thursday, and perhaps some more overnight. It is also forecasting snow flurries for the first four days of next week.

Environment Canada lifted its storm warning for Toronto, Peel and Halton Region by Wednesday afternoon, but it remained in effect for Ottawa.

"Welcome to winter in Canada. It won't be the last one this year," said Krista Kealey, vice-president of communications for the Ottawa Airport Authority, referring to the storm, which led to the cancellation of more than 40 flights in the capital.

"It's safe to say the weather is definitely having an impact," said Kealey.

She said the airport is used to battling bad conditions, and that seasoned crew members were well-prepared for the first blast of winter weather.

"They've been planning, anticipating the first major snowfall," said Kealey.

Many passengers stranded at airports flocked to find other means of transportation.

Via Rail quickly added more cars as its business-class section filled up.

Taxi companies reported long waits as well.

The city got a chance to test out its new global positioning system, installed on 160 salt trucks.

The city recently spent $200,000 on GPS technology that will allow staff to gather real-time data about road conditions and temperatures, and adjust how much salt and other chemicals are applied to the roads. Ottawa is the first Canadian city to use the technology on its entire fleet.

City and provincial police cleared dozens of minor collisions from roadways.