School’s out, shovels out: Maritimes bracing for up to 35 cm of snow

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are digging out Monday from a massive snowstorm that’s forecast to bring up to 35 cm of snow by Tuesday morning.

Schools, universities, businesses, government buildings and municipal services were shut down — some announcing the closures ahead of the overnight storm.

Environment Canada has a yellow-coloured snowfall warning in effect for all of Nova Scotia that states 25 to 35 cm of snow is expected, with locally higher amounts possible. The snow should intensify again by Monday evening.

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As well, the forecast calls for 50 km/h maximum wind gusts, except 70 km/h along the Atlantic coast.

“Roads and walkways will likely be difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow. Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions,” the warning adds.

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Intense cold with wind chills in the -20s over the weekend led to outages in some areas and prompted Nova Scotia Power to ask customers to conserve energy.

Southern New Brunswick is also under a yellow-coloured snowfall warning with 20 to 25 cm possible.

“Snow is expected to ease off slightly this morning before intensifying again tonight. Strong winds gusting up to 50 km/h today will give reduced visibilities in blowing snow over open and exposed areas,” that warning states.

Closures and cancellations

Nova Scotia provincial government offices were closed, including the courthouses. In a statement, the province said “decisions regarding court operations are made on a case-by-case basis with the judiciary” and advised people to check with their lawyer or contact the courthouse to confirm statuses.

In Halifax, residents were asked to avoid all non-essential travel while clean-up efforts were underway Monday. The municipal parking ban is being enforced until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Municipal offices, recreation facilities and the public gardens were closed Monday.

Meanwhile, Halifax Transit buses were travelling on snow routes.

The municipality also said that its After-Hours Individualized Mobile Engagement team (AIM) visited people who are currently homeless to speak to them about shelter options and to help with transportation.

“The AIM team will continue to engage with people as needed in the coming days,” Halifax said in a news release.

Airports in the region, including Halifax Stanfield International Airport, were reporting cancellations and delays and advising passengers to confirm flight status with airlines before heading to the airport.

Some of the delays are a result of the massive snowstorm in Ontario, caused by the same system that dumped around 50 cm of snow in some regions.

Toronto Pearson International Airport cancelled or delayed hundreds of domestic and international flights. Flight-tracking site FlightAware said more than 500 flights were cancelled at the airport Sunday.

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