HALIFAX -- It started snowing around the noon hour and it didn't take long for the snow to start accumulating.
Snow started falling in Yarmouth, N.S., at around 8:30 a.m. Thursday and, within hours, all of southwestern Nova Scotia was under a blanket of snow.
"I'm really loving it," said Alyssa Leblanc of Tusket, N.S.
Schools in Yarmouth, the Annapolis Valley and South Shore dismissed students early as the snow continued to pile up and weather conditions deteriorated.
"School got done around noon time and now it's pretty snowy and the roads are icy and covered," said Colette Leblanc of Meteghan, N.S.
Many businesses in that part of the province closed their doors earlier than usual -- to keep both employees and customers safe.
"It's a great day to stay inside where it's nice and warm," said Suzy Powley Atwood of Barrington, N.S.
In Halifax, people spent the afternoon getting ready for a blast of winter.
"Everything is ready as can be," said June Bond of Dartmouth. "Everything is charged up, honestly we don't lose any power and if we do -- but if we do we'll make the best of it and maybe come out and play."
Municipal officials say winter crews started gearing up Wednesday in anticipation of Thursday's snow storm.
The city is reminding residents to avoid parking vehicles on the street from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. to allow crews to clear the streets and sidewalks.
As people in Halifax prepared to shovel, people in southwestern Nova Scotia were already being pounded by the storm by late afternoon.
"I'm here in Saulnierville, on the shores of Bay St Marys, but you can't see the bay behind me because it's snowing really hard," said Kelli Saulnier Saulnierville, N.S.
The late fall snow storm was expected to bring significant snowfall to parts of the region.
