A winter storm has once again swept into Atlantic Canada, forcing school and service closures and dumping more than 20 centimetres of heavy, wet snow on Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city.
It seemed there was nowhere to put all the snow as shovellers in St. John’s worked to clear knee-deep drifts blanketing their front stoops Monday morning.
The night before, many shelves in the city’s grocery stores were growing bare as residents stocked up on meat, bread and other basics in preparation for up to 50 cm, as per Environment Canada’s warnings.
The weather agency said just before 11 a.m. that parts of eastern Newfoundland were blanketed in 20 cm to 30 cm of snow. The wind and snow let up for a few hours on Monday afternoon, but the skies were grey again by 3:30 p.m. as the storm took another swing at the island.
Environment Canada called for another 10 cm by Monday night for Newfoundland’s Avalon and Burin peninsulas, as well as the Clarenville, N.L., region, and another five to 10 cm overnight into Tuesday. In some areas, that snow was expected to dissolve into rain.
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Flights were cancelled at the St. John’s International Airport into Tuesday morning.
In Nova Scotia, messy weather forced the provincial government to cancel its annual Groundhog Day event at Shubenacadie Wildlife Park with the ever-popular rodent, Shubenacadie Sam.
Guysborough County, in the northeast corner of mainland Nova Scotia, saw the most snow, with 27 cm reported in Dover by late Monday morning, said Bob Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada. Between 15 and 20 cm fell in the Cape Breton area.
Schools were closed or delayed opening in the Halifax region as the city dug out from about 10 centimetres of snow.
Environment Canada said the wintry weather in Nova Scotia was expected to clear up by Monday afternoon. Central and eastern Newfoundland, however, would not be so lucky.
An orange-coloured winter storm warning remained in place for the Avalon and Burin peninsulas, as well as the Clarenville region, in eastern Newfoundland. Environment Canada issues orange warnings when significant damage or disruption is possible because of severe weather.
In addition to more snow, winds gusting to 100 kilometres an hour were forecast in the region until Tuesday morning. Environment Canada warned of storm surge and high waves that could cause flooding along Newfoundland’s east and northeast coasts.
Meanwhile, parts of central Newfoundland could see 15 cm of snow by Tuesday morning.
Atlantic Canada has seen several strong storms so far this winter, following a summer of drought. At least four storms have forced closures, delays or early dismissals in metro-area schools in St. John’s, N.L., since Dec. 1.
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