Cancellations and closures amid heavy snowfall in the Maritimes

The slow moving weather system that’s dumping large amounts of snow on parts of the region has already resulted in a lengthy list of delays, cancellations and closures.

CTV News has compiled a list of how the snowstorm is affecting the Maritimes.

Warnings

There are winter storm and snowfall warnings for areas across Nova Scotia.

Environment Canada says parts of western could receive between 10 cm and 15 cm of snow, and northwestern Nova Scotia could receive between 20 cm and 40 cm of snow until Monday.

There are also special weather statements for Prince Edward Island. Central and eastern P.E.I. could see between 20 cm and 40 cm until Monday.

For more information about the upcoming forecast, check out this story from CTV’s Chief Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell.

When you get snow like this, Peter Bigelow says you have to stay on top of it.

“I wasn’t expecting this much,” says Bigelow. “You just have to stay ahead of it."

Peter James says he likes fluffier, lighter snow, but this is heavy stuff.

“It gets you having a workout,” says James. “This is our first real February snowfall, so fingers crossed we don’t get too many more of this.”

Travel

All Halifax Transit bus, Access-A-Bus and ferry services were suspended as of 1 p.m. Saturday.

For transit updates, visit the Halifax Regional Municipality’s website and follow @hfxtransit on X.

The Halifax Regional Municipality will continue its overnight parking ban into Sunday morning between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. The ban will be in both Zone 1, central, and Zone 2, non-central.

For more information on parking bans, visit the municipality’s website.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality suspended its transit services Saturday morning due to the winter storm.

Senior public affairs manager for Halifax Laura Wright says crews will continue working around the clock all the snow is cleared.

“Where we are expecting significant snowfall, you can expect a full-court press from our crews in snow clearing,” says Wright.

A plow cleans a sidewalk in Halifax on Feb. 3, 2024.

Some may find it difficult to travel before plow crews clear the roads, but others have inventive ways of getting around.

Sam Ross and Julia Kontak took out their cross-country skis.

“We wanted to go off to the Windsor area, but obviously we can’t drive anywhere, so we just went around our neighbourhood,” says Kontak.

Outages

Although large amounts of snow are falling in some parts of the Maritimes, power outages are mostly scattered throughout Nova Scotia.

The province, as of 9:50 p.m., has 63 outages and 2,295 affected customers.

In New Brunswick, six power outages were affecting 1289 customers, all in Miramichi, as of 9:15 p.m.

There were no reported power outages on Prince Edward Island as of 9:15 p.m.

Cancellations and closures

The hockey game between the Pictou County Weeks Crushers and the Valley Wildcats at the Kings Mutual Century Centre in Berwick, N.S., is postponed, according to a news release from the Maritime Junior Hockey League.

They will announce when the game is rescheduled.

The Halifax Shopping Centre and the Mic Mac Mall closed at 1 p.m. Saturday, according to their websites.

Irving Shipbuilding cancelled the day and night shifts at all Irving Shipbuilding sites, according to news releases.

Someone removes ice and snow from the window of a vehicle in Halifax on Feb. 3, 2024.

The University of Prince Edward Island's women’s and men’s basketball games against Dalhousie University will go ahead, the university says in a news release. The games are set for 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., respectively, at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre.

Check the UPEI Panthers’ social media channels for any further updates, the release says.

School closures

Dalhousie University postponed a volleyball game between the King’s Blue Devils Women’s Volleyball Team and the Dalhousie AC Rams at its Truro campus on Sunday, according to a post on X.

Mount Saint Vincent University announced on Saturday that it would be closed all day Sunday.

NSCAD University has closed all university campuses due to heavy snowfall.

St. Francis Xavier University closed at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday but essential services remain open.

The Nova Scotia Community College’s Marconi campus in Sydney, N.S., will be closed until Monday.

The college’s Metro campuses, including Ivany, IT, Aviation and Akerley, closed at 8 p.m. Friday and will open again on Monday.

The University of Prince Edward Island is closed for the day due to the weather.

The AVC Veterinary Hospital will remain open for emergencies, the university says.

For more information, the university suggests people download the UPEI SAFE app.

With files from CTV's Hafsa Arif.