MONCTON – Heavy snow, strong northeast winds and near zero visibility battered much of New Brunswick on Sunday.
Environment Canada issued blizzard warnings for most of the province, with warning areas stretching from Woodstock to Charlotte County in the west and from Bathurst to Moncton and Saint John in the east and south.
About 30 centimetres of snow had fallen in the southern regions of the province by 3 p.m., while the northern region had about 10 centimetres of snow. Another 10 to 15 centimetres could fall before Monday morning.
But high winds caused blowing snow and low visibility, and drifts were much higher in some areas.
Several highways were closed in the province, as white-out conditions and heavy accumulations made roads impassable. Sections of Hwy 11, Hwy 16, Hwy 126, Hwy 15, and Hwy 2 were closed. The province’s Emergency Measures Organization said that some roads may not reopen Monday morning as crews continue to give priority to emergencies.
The latest information on road closures is available on the province’s website.
Const. Anthony Gaudet with Codiac RCMP said the best advice for drivers was to stay off the roads.
“The snow can get quite high on the sides of vehicles and the visibility is limited to nil currently,” Gaudet said.
“It can cause a collision if your vehicle gets stuck. You could get struck by a snow plow or by another vehicle.”.
“The snow can get quite high on the sides of vehicles and the visibility is limited to nil currently and it can cause a collision if your vehicle gets stuck you could get struck by a snow plow or by another vehicle,” he said.
In Saint John, conditions were so poor that plows were taken off the road for a part of the day.
In Moncton, city crews continued to plow the roads, but were told to use their own judgement and pull off the road when conditions required it. Crews were having trouble clearing some roads because of parked or abandoned cars.
Moncton plow operator Dave Mclaughlin said the snow and cold were working against him.
“This is the worst yet,” he said. “You can’t see and there’s no visibility plus you’re icing up all the time and you’ve got to keep your windshield clean.”
Operators are expecting to continue working in Moncton until midnight and then resume work early Monday morning.
Environment Canada also issued a storm surge warning for Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick, as well as Kent county, with a storm surge of one metre or more possible. The EMO warned the surge could put strong pressure on ice, causing ice to come up onto the shore. They advised residents along the coast to be vigilant.
Emergency response crews also had trouble getting around the province. In an e-mail to Global News, Ambulance New Brunswick spokesperson Tracy Bell said all non-essential patient transfers between medical facilities were put on hold. Crews responding to 911 call for medical emergencies required the assistance of snow plow operators to reach patients.
“Our ambulance dispatch centre is also working with physicians to provide support to 911 callers over the phone in instances where the patient’s condition is not considered serious and our crews are experiencing a delay in responding because of the treacherous conditions outside,” she wrote, stressing that crews always respond to medical emergencies and they were working closely with the Department of Transportation and other emergency responders.
Dozens of flights at the Greater Moncton International Airport, Fredericton International Airport and Saint John Airport were cancelled or delayed.
Codiac Transpo and Saint John Transit also cancelled all transit services on Sunday.
The City of Moncton cancelled waste collection for Sunday night and the Town of Riverview has cancelled waste collection for Monday. Both are asking residents to hold their waste and put it out next week.
Both the Saint John YMCA and Greater Moncton YMCA were closed Sunday. The Moncton location is delaying its opening on Monday until noon.
In Fredericton, both the Northside and Southside YMCA closed early Sunday.
With files from Brion Robinson
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