Blizzard brings high winds, poor visibility to roads in parts of Nova Scotia
High winds and blowing snow shut down schools and made for treacherous driving conditions in some parts of the province Thursday.
The worst of the weather conditions are being felt in parts of northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, where blizzard warnings remain in place.
Environment Canada says wind gusts will reach 90 km/h in some of those areas and 10 to 15 centimetres of snow is expected. Blowing snow is reducing visibility and making travel difficult.
Halifax and other parts of the mainland are also seeing blowing snow and winds gusting to around 70 km/h. Unlike more northern areas, only about two centimetres of snow is expected.
Places hardest hit by the weather have cancelled classes. Schools in the following boards are closed today:
- Cape Breton Victoria Regional School Board
- Strait Regional School Board
- Annapolis Valley Regional School Board
- Chignecto Central Regional School Board
NSCC has also closed a few of its campuses or delayed opening. Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, Cape Breton University, Dalhousie University's agricultural campus and St. Francis Xavier University have also either delayed opening or cancelled classes this morning.
Transportation hiccups
Many roads throughout the province are snow covered and have icy patches, according to the Department of Transportation. In Halifax, the MacKay Bridge was closed to high-sided vehicles Thursday morning but that restriction has since lifted.
More than a dozen arrivals and departures at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport were delayed or cancelled.
Marine Atlantic cancelled its morning sailings, which are now set to go ahead tonight at 11:45 p.m., weather permitting.
Much of the stormy weather is expected to die down throughout the day. In Cape Breton the weather is expected to clear to a chance of flurries by tonight.
