HALIFAX -- The sound of snow blowers filled the air in Sydney on Sunday morning as Cape Bretoners awoke to more snow and lots of it. According to Environment Canada, over 30 cm of snow descended upon on the island overnight.
“This is our first winter back on the East Coast, so I'm kind of wishing we were back in Vancouver right now,” said one returning resident.
Mixed in with rain and freezing rain, the snow was not easy to move or shovel.
“I do four driveways here,” says resident, Bill Lloy, who was snow blowing driveways in his neighbourhood. “It blows the snow quite well. It has two belts in it, lots of power – it’s great.”
Cape Breton University closed its campus for the day, as did many businesses in the area. In addition, Marine Atlantic cancelled sailings from North Sydney to Newfoundland.
Meanwhile, other parts of the region got off a little easier. With only a few centimetres falling in Halifax, clean up was simple, and city officials even lifted enforcement of a winter parking ban.
Back in Sydney, Cape Bretoners continued to dig out – all the while feeling fortunate they aren’t their Newfoundland neighbours.
“I'm not happy with the shovelling, but it could be worse,” says resident, Rob Power. “At least we didn't have the dump that St. John's had.”
However, it wasn’t insignificant.
“It's pretty busy. I was up since 4 o'clock,” says snow removal contractor, Walter MacDonald. “It’s the biggest one this winter so far.”
After a quiet start to winter, several storms hit the island in January – a trend which has carried into February – meaning big business for snow removal contractors.
“It's an old fashion winter – twice or three times a week,” says MacDonald. “I've worked every Sunday for the last month, all these weekends.”
Meanwhile, a snowfall warning for Cape Breton was lifted by the afternoon with conditions expected to improve by the evening; however, cleanup efforts continued into the evening.
