Powerful gusts from spring blizzard lash East Coast

A spring blizzard that one forecaster dubbed a ‘monster nor’easter’ descended on Atlantic Canada on Wednesday, hurling icy shards at terrific speeds across the region for much of the day and into the evening.

Howling winds pulled down power lines across the Maritimes, leaving about 16,000 Nova Scotians in the dark at one point. Outages were also reported in southern New Brunswick and across P.E.I. where 59 communities were without power just before 9 p.m.

The Trans-Canada Highway between Truro, N.S., and Moncton, N.B., was closed as blowing snow made the highway impassable. The story was the same in western Newfounland later in the day as blowing snow left a mess on highways between Port aux Basques and Corner Brook.

Most schools and government offices were closed in the Maritimes. Flights, ferry services and public transit services were cancelled, and even the Confederation Bridge to P.E.I. was closed as powerful gusts howled across the Northumberland Strait.

In Grand Etang, on the notoriously windy west side of Cape Breton, a gust from the east reached 172 kilometres per hour.

By 7 p.m., the wind was gusting at an incredible 185 kilometres per hour at Wreckhouse in western Newfoundland, another area famous for powerful winds that roar down nearby hills.

Meteorologist Richard Zurawski says Halifax Stanfield International Airport recorded 22 centimetres of snow, but totals across the province range anywhere from 20 to 40 centimetres.

“Moncton got a little over 40 centimetres, probably closer to 40 or 50 centimetres of snow as did Saint John and Fredericton,” says Zurawski.

He adds we’ll continue to see strong winds of up to 70 or 80km/h today.

“It’s quite a deep low pressure system and the good news is it’s moving rather rapidly but it’s got quite an extend so we’re going to continue to get some flurries and some gusty winds out there with blowing and drifting snow,” he explains.

HRM winter works superintendent Gord Hayward says crews are meeting their road clearing standards.

“We’re meeting our three hour turnaround times on our P1’s so they’re passable with caution but there’s still a lot of cleanup required once this snow stops and tapers off and this wind stops blowing,” he explains. “The P2 streets will have a cut through, but very few will be complete most of the finished plowing will be done on those P2 streets, those residential, through the day.”

He adds it was a big help that everyone stayed home yesterday.

“With government offices, and HRM offices closed and universities too it’s been pretty much a free run for our operators,” says Hayward.

The snow is still expected to melt this weekend, with double digit temperatures arriving by Saturday but Zurawski warns another system is on the way.

“Late on Sunday it looks like we have another system coming through and the question is are we going to get rain or are we going to get snow, and at this juncture it looks like we’re going to get snow, probably another 10 or 15 centimetres,” he says.