Weather warnings continue in southern New Brunswick
Weather warnings remain in effect for most of southern New Brunswick with Environment Canada predicting another five centimetres of snow by early evening.
Messy weather cancelled flights and schools, caused slippery roads with reduced visibility and left thousands without power in New Brunswick throughout the day.
The New Brunswick Department of Transportation is reporting snow-covered and slippery conditions on most of the province's highways. Visibility is also reduced due to strong winds and blowing snow.
Road crews remained busy into the evening across most of the province.
Brunway officials, who maintain the Trans-Canada Highway from the Quebec border to just outside of Fredericton, said one of the worst stretches was from Woodstock to Longs Creek.
"Our entire fleet is out on the highway right now, removing snow, plowing and salting as well to make sure no ice forms on the surface," said spokeswoman Colleen Gorman.
"But with all that accumulation, it's still pretty slushy out there and the passing lane really doesn't look good."
In the Fredericton area, Old Springfield Road and Stairs Road, both in Millville, were closed to all vehicles, including emergency vehicles, due to trees being down, according to the Department of Transportation.
There has not been any serious accidents to report in the Moncton area as a result of the weather, said Const. Damien Thériault, of the Codiac Regional RCMP.
Police did respond to few minor collisions with no injuries, he said.
Snow is sticking to many signs making them difficult to read, said Thériault.
Police are reminding drivers to slow down, drive carefully and allow more time to reach their destinations.
Although warm temperatures have prevented ice from forming, the slushy conditions are still treacherous, they said.
Some flights from the Moncton International Airport have been affected. WestJet's 6 a.m. flight to Toronto was cancelled. Air Canada's morning flights to Halifax were delayed.
Saint John and Fredericton airports also had delayed or cancelled flights.
At 10 a.m., NB Power was reporting 8,200 customers were experiencing power outages. Nearly 6,000 of those were in the Fredericton area.
By 6 p.m., the number of outages in Fredericton had dropped to 3,383, but the overall number across the province had jumped to more than 10,000, according to the utility's website.
The bulk of the other outages were in Sussex, with 2,251 customers affected, Moncton, at 1,805, and Rothesay at 1,434, the website shows.
Woodstock, St. Stephen, Bouctouche, Sackville and Shediac were also hit with unplanned outages.
All schools in Anglophone East and West District were closed for the day as were schools in the Francophone South District in Fredericton, Oromocto, Moncton, Dieppe, Memramcook and Shediac.
Schools in Kent County, Miramichi and Saint John remained open.
