With a much awaited spring just days away, and while flowers are already in bloom on the west coast, parts of eastern Ontario and southern Quebec got another taste of winter with between 10 to 20-centimeters of snow this weekend.
(*** NB-Wed update at bottom)
However, this was just the edge of a major storm that whipped through the maritime provinces on the weekend and into Newfoundland on Sunday and early today.
Throughout New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, people were stranded, roads and highways closed, and flights cancelled.
Up to 60 cm of snow fell in some regions, blown into huge drifts and whiteout conditions by winds up to 82 kilometres an hour.
In P.E.I., the storm brought over 48 cm of snow, making it the second snowiest day of the year, exactly one month after a previous storm dropped over 64cm of snow. This makes a record snowfall for the year at over four and half metres of snow (454 cm).
Thousands of people are without power through the region, although conditions are expected to improve slowly. Many schools and other public buildings remain closed today as travel is difficult throughout the entire maritime region and in Newfoundland.
In Montreal the temperature is expected to be just above zero today with some sunny breaks. In Halifax, temperatures will remain close to zero, with a trace of snowfall for the next couple of days.
In St John’s, Newfoundland, the temperature will also be hovering around zero, with a few centimetres of snow over the next couple of days, but with strong winds continuing up to 50km/h today, and tomorrow.
However, with the heavy snowfall this year, up to three and four times typical amounts, and almost ten time more than usual along New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy region, officials are saying that flooding could be a major concern this year especially if there is a quick arrival of an extended warm period. They are hoping for warm days but cold nights in order to have the snow melt gradually.
(*** Update since this story was posted on the 16th, the forecast listed above, proved inaccurate in that the maritimes just a couple of days later (Wed the 18th) are once again being battered by high winds and heavy snow- from 10 to 30cm depending on the region and winds gusting from 50-80km/h***
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