Nova Scotia is experiencing a massive blizzard with snow expected to continue into Tuesday morning, causing numerous closures, delays and travel cancellations leaving some people stranded in the province.
At Halifax Stanfield International Airport, dozens of flights were cancelled throughout the day, with some cancellations already anticipated for Tuesday.
For Lindsay Leighton of the Annapolis Valley, the cancellation was painful as she was about to head off to Orlando.
Leighton said her plane had been boarded and they were waiting to take off, but after sitting on the tarmac for two hours, the plane turned around and passengers were told they wouldn’t be taking off.
“It was pretty painful,” Leighton told Global News. “With the storm coming we thought we were going to escape the snow and make it to a sunny destination, but didn’t work out that way.”
She said her family is camping out in the airport, because several hotels they called were full, but are hopeful they’ll be able to take off tomorrow.
Some people did, however, get hotels, having already had a booking.
Marilyn Walsh with Quorum Information Technologies in Calgary said she had arrived in Halifax to train a dealership on a new system. She arrived Saturday and started training Sunday, but on arriving at the hotel Sunday evening, the dealership said they might not open.
“We’re pretty well just waiting to see what’s going to happen outside and then go from there,” Walsh said.
She said though she’s used to frigid temperatures in Calgary, she wasn’t expecting weather like what’s being seen in Halifax.
“It blows right in at a gale but, like in Calgary it’s -32, really cold, but not like this,” she said. “The blowing, the wind, and I see the snowplows go by but it’s not doing much.”
The cancellations are also impacting students trying to make it home for midterms.
Ciara Arnott and Naomi Pinno said they were at a swimming competition in Prince Edward Island and had landed in Halifax to head back to St. John’s, but were told their flight wouldn’t take off until Thursday.
Pinno said it’s difficult because midterms are taking place this week at Memorial University.
“It’s going to be pretty nuts,” Pinno said. “I’m missing like three midterms.”
Several flights are scheduled to take off on Tuesday, but people are reminded to check with their airline before traveling to the airport as some cancellations and delays are already listed.
– With files from Steve Silva and Jennifer Grudic, Global News.
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