Some schools close as messy mix of precipitation hits Nova Scotia
Dozens of schools are closed today with freezing rain warnings issued for all of mainland Nova Scotia and rainfall warnings out for most of the province.
The Strait Regional School Board, École Beau-Port and École Acadienne de Pomquet will dismiss students starting at 1 p.m. because of deteriorating weather conditions.
NSCC's Cumberland Campus including the Amherst Learning Centre will close 2 p.m.
The weather has resulted in a few cancelled flights at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. If you're travelling today, be sure to check your flight status before leaving for the airport.
Tuesday morning, Halifax Transit passengers experienced long delays which were mostly resolved before noon. Around 10 a.m., Halifax Transit reported 26 per cent of buses were running 45 minutes late or later, 20 per cent of its buses were running at least 60 minutes late this morning and another 10 per cent werere running at least 80 minutes late.
Marine Atlantic has cancelled its sailings today between Port aux Basques, N.L., and North Sydney, and says Wednesday morning's sailings could also be impacted by the weather.
Much of the Maritimes is on the warmer, eastern side of a low pressure system moving out of southern Ontario and will see precipitation turn from snow to ice pellets and freezing rain, and finally to rain, according to CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell.
He says the snow will mix with ice pellets and freezing rain, then change to rain for mainland Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick late this morning and into the afternoon. The change over will take place for Cape Breton, P.E.I., and central New Brunswick in the evening.
Environment Canada has all of mainland Nova Scotia under a freezing rain warning.
That freezing rain will turn to rain, which has prompted rainfall warnings with up to 35 millimetres expected by Wednesday morning for the following counties:
- Colchester County – Cobequid Bay, Truro and South
- Cumberland County – Minas Shore
- Digby County
- Guysborough County
- Halifax County
- Hants County
- Inverness County – south of Mabou
- Lunenburg County
- Queens County
- Richmond County
- Shelburne County
- Sydney Metro and Cape Breton County
- Victoria County
- Yarmouth County
All that rain will have few places to go as the ground remains frozen and its ability to absorb all of that water is reduced.
Inverness County – Mabou and North is also under a Les Suêtes wind warning with strong gusts of up to 120 km/h expected.
The following closed schools this morning:
- Annapolis Valley Regional School Board
- South Shore Regional School Board
- Tri-County Regional School Board
- CSAP in Clare and Argyle
- Centre scolaire de la Rive-Sud
- École Rose-des-Vents
