Major blizzard shuts down most of Atlantic Canada

Much of Atlantic Canada is closing up and hunkering down as a major blizzard that already delivered a wallop of snow and wind to the U.S. Northeast sweeps through today.

It's a snow-day for school children throughout Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and eastern New Brunswick today, as a winter storm moving up from the U.S. combines with the blasting winds from the polar vortex to produce a blizzard across the region. Most college and university students are off today as well, although those attending Dalhousie University and University of King’s College still had to tough it out for the morning. Both schools are closing their campuses at noon, since conditions will worsen this afternoon.

People on the roads in Nova Scotia this morning have already been dealing with snow-covered pavements, powerful wind gusts and reduced visibility due to blowing snow. Those conditions are expected to get worse, as well as spread into eastern New Brunswick and P.E.I., as the heaviest bands of snow pass through and the winds reach their peak later today.

Although a few flights have made it in and out of Halifax International Airport this morning, the majority have been cancelled due to the storm. Those travelling today should check the status of their flight before leaving.

According to Environment Canada, this storm is packing up to 40 centimetres of snow for Nova Scotia, with wind gusts blasting up to 90 kilometres per hour at times. A small amount of that total snowfall was already on the ground as of this morning, as the first bands from the storm passed through overnight. The main swath of snow is moving in for this afternoon and will continue well into tonight. For eastern New Brunswick and P.E.I., located on the western edge of the storm, snowfall amounts will be down to around 20 to 30 centimetres, and winds are expected to get up to 60 to 80 kilometres per hour.

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This blizzard will be sweeping across Newfoundland starting later today or this evening. A mixed bag of winter weather is in store, with mainly rain falling across the Avalon Peninsula, but heavy snow, gusting winds and blizzard conditions are expected for the rest of the island.

(Photo courtesy: The Canadian Press)

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