Maritimes braces for latest winter wallop of snow, strong winds

Atlantic Canada’s utilities and municipalities are bracing for another day of snow and strong winds, while weary residents get set for more shovelling.

Environment Canada has issued blowing snow and winter storm warnings for much of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and eastern New Brunswick, while gusts are predicted to reach up to 100 kilometres per hour in the Wreckhouse area of southwestern Newfoundland.

Nova Scotia Power says it will activate its Emergency Operations Centre at 8 a.m. today, and that it has crews positioned across the province to respond to any outages.

Some residents of Newfoundland’s capital were posting to social media on the weekend, looking for help getting out of their homes as massive drifts covered doors to homes and basement apartments.

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The City of St. John’s says in a statement that all municipal facilities, including City Hall, will be closed Monday in order to give city crews the time and space they need to clear a deluge of snow that’s fallen in the past week.

Some parts of St. John’s were buried under 56 centimetres of snow, while the nearby communities of Mount Pearl and Paradise saw 65 cm and 74 cm, respectively.

“We will continue to monitor conditions closely and will take additional measures if necessary,” the city’s statement said.

Environment Canada said nearly 330 cm of snow has fallen in St. John’s since Nov. 1, while totals in Gander, in central Newfoundland, have hit 434 cm.

The weather office says northwestern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island can expect to see as much as 25 centimetres of snow by Tuesday, while Bridgetown and Yarmouth in the province’s south can expect the same amount.

Nova Scotia Power said heavy snow and high winds are expected to impact the province throughout the day.

The utility said the mix of weather can weigh down trees and branches onto power lines. It also said high winds can affect safety for power line technicians, slowing restoration efforts when winds reach 80 km an hour.


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