A series of weather alerts are in place across the Maritimes Monday as a major winter storm brings snow and strong winds to the region.
Nova Scotia
Yellow winter storm and snowfall warnings are in place for most areas of Nova Scotia.
Up to 25 cm of snow, along with northeasterly wind gusts of up to 80 km/h, are expected.
Locally higher amounts of snow are possible and 90 km/h winds can be expected over exposed areas.
Environment Canada says the snow is expected to mix with or change to rain over parts of Halifax County Monday night.
Blowing snow and limited visibility is also possible.
Meanwhile, orange winter storm warnings are in place for Lunenburg, Queens and Shelburne counties.
Up to 30 cm of snow is possible in those regions, except up to 50 cm under the heaviest snow bands.
Northeasterly wind gusts of 80 km/h are also in the forecast, except for 100 km/h over exposed areas.
“Snowfall rates may exceed 5 cm per hour at times today and tonight. Snow may mix with or change to rain along the Atlantic coast later this evening. Travel will likely be hazardous,” the warning reads.
“Prepare for disruptions to transportation, services and utilities.”
The messy conditions will last until early Tuesday morning for most areas.
A Les Suêtes wind warning is in place from Margaree Harbour to Bay St. Lawrence in Cape Breton.
Easterly wind gusts of up to 120 km/h are expected late Monday afternoon until early Tuesday morning.
A coastal flooding statement is also in place for the Atlantic coastlines of Shelburne, Queens, Lunenburg and Halifax counties.
Wave heights of up to seven metres will be possible during high tide Monday evening.
“An intense low pressure system will bring very strong northeast winds and high waves to the above regions later on Monday. Storm surge combined with wave action near high tide may raise water levels above the highest astronomical tide,” the statement reads.
New Brunswick
Yellow winter storm and snowfall warnings are in effect for parts of southern and eastern New Brunswick.
Heavy snow began around noon Monday, accompanied by gusty northeasterly winds.
Visibility will be reduced at times with both falling and blowing snow.
Up to 30 cm is expected in southern areas with locally higher amounts possible, along with northeasterly wind gusts of 70 km/h, except 90 km/h along parts of the coast.
Special weather statements are also in place for central and northeastern parts of the province.
Five-to-10 cm of snow is forecasted, along with northeasterly wind gusts between 50-and-70 km/h.
Prince Edward Island
On P.E.I., a yellow snowfall warning is in place for Kings County, where up to 20 cm is expected.
Environment Canada says the snow may briefly change to, or become mixed with, rain overnight.
Meanwhile, yellow winter storm warnings are in effect for central and western parts of the island.
Up to 25 cm is expected along with northeast wind gusts up to 70 km/h, except 90 km/h over exposed areas.
School closures
Schools on P.E.I. dismissed students early Monday.
Some schools in southern New Brunswick were closed.
Many schools in Nova Scotia either closed or dismissed students early.
A full list of closures can be found here.
Other closures
The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) closed all municipal offices at noon.
Most municipally-owned and operated recreation facilities closed at noon.
All Halifax Public Libraries branches and departments also closed at noon.
Travel
As of 6 p.m. Monday, most flights at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport had been cancelled or delayed.
Marine Atlantic cancelled the following sailings for Monday due to adverse weather conditions:
- The 11:45 a.m. Port aux Basques, N.L., to North Sydney, N.S.
- The 11:15 p.m. North Sydney to Port aux Basques
- The 11:30 p.m. Port aux Basques to North Sydney
The ferry service says delays are also possible for sailings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The following Fundy Rose sailings were cancelled Monday due to the forecasted wind and sea state conditions:
- The 9 a.m. Saint John, N.B., departure
- The 4 p.m. Digby, N.S., departure
Bay Ferries says the Fundy Rose departure time from Saint John on Tuesday has been revised to 10 a.m.
The 4 p.m. departure from Digby was also cancelled.
The Tancook Ferry suspended service for the day around 1 p.m.
Kings Transit Authority in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley said it would operate as usual in the morning, but end service by 2 p.m. across all routes.
As of 4 p.m., Halifax Transit bus routes are operating on snow plans.
Saint John Transit is suspending all bus service at 6 p.m. Monday.
Wind conditions may result in traffic restrictions on the Confederation Bridge from 5 p.m. Monday until 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Power
As of 6 p.m., there were 47 active outage in Nova Scotia affecting 4,450 customers.
At that time there were four outages affecting 111 NB Power customers and one customer without power on P.E.I.
Parking ban
HRM says the overnight winter parking ban will be enforced from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Tuesday in both Zone 1 – Central and Zone 2 – Non-Central to allow crews to clear streets and sidewalks.
