Schools, government offices and universities were closed Tuesday across the Maritimes as a powerful storm moved through the region.
Many malls and businesses also closed their doors for the day as the storm brought a mix of heavy snow, ice pellets and strong winds to the Maritimes.
The weather resulted in power outages; close to 2,500 Nova Scotia Power customers were without electricity at one point. Most outages were reported in the Barrington, Kingston, Shelburne, Port Hawkesbury and Sydney/Cape Breton County areas and the lights may not come back on until Friday in some spots.
“We have to monitor each situation closely and see whether our crews can actually get to the site safely to do the work. So that is a big factor in determining when people can get there power back on,” says Beverley Ware of Nova Scotia Power.
In New Brunswick, almost 2,000 NB Power customers were still without electricity when darkness fell. Most outages were reported in the Fredericton, St. Stephen, Miramichi, and Sussex areas.
The snow began before dawn, making for a messy early morning commute. By mid-day, conditions forced the closure of the Trans-Canada highway between Moncton and Truro.
Police across the Maritimes warned motorists to stay off the roads due to the possibility of near-zero visibility with wind gusts whipping snow across roads.
“Today’s storm is affecting the entire province and is affecting a good part of the Maritimes,” said Cpl. Chantal Farrah of the New Brunswick RCMP.
Farah suggested that those who must be on the road make sure someone is aware of their plan.
“Tell someone what time you're leaving, what's your expected time to get there, which route you're going to take to be getting to your destination, make sure you have a phone and you have emergency supplies in your vehicle,” said Farah.
Graders and plows were out in full force, working main streets and highways, a difficult job during any storm, but worse Tuesday because of the driving winds.
“It's an extreme weather event, it's a heavy snow storm,” said Mike Walker of the City of Fredericton. “The blowing snow has reduced visibility to near zero conditions and our message is, if you don't need to be on the roads, then don't be.”
Air travellers were encouraged to check their flight status before heading to the airport as dozens of flights at Maritime airports were delayed or cancelled. However, that didn't mean a day off for security worker Brad Gilroy, who was taking the storm in stride as he took the bus to his job at the airport in Halifax.
"It's all shut down from what I'm told but I have to report to work regardless and I'm ... leaving my car safely in the garage," said Gilroy.
"Sometimes they're much ado about nothing and sometimes they're worse than forecast so you just have to take it moment by moment and judge it accordingly," he said.
"That's why I'm leaving my car at home because I don't know what it will be doing 10 or 12 hours from now."
Some ferries suspended service for the day, including the Tancook, LeHave, Englishtown and Grand Passage ferries. Bay Ferries cancelled crossings between Digby and Saint John.
The Confederation Bridge restricted certain classes of vehicles from crossing until further notice. The Pictou Causeway at Highway 106 was closed and the Canso Causeway was closed to high-sided vehicles for several hours Tuesday but it has since reopened to all vehicles.
In Halifax, the winter parking ban is in effect and some transit buses are operating on snow plans. In Fredericton, transit buses made their last run from King’s Place at 9:15 a.m. and buses were pulled from Saint John roads. In Moncton, Codiac Transpo pulled its buses from the roads. Transit buses were also pulled from Cape Breton Regional Municipality roads at noon.
The weather also disrupted mail delivery across the region. Canada Post said there will be no mail delivery in Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island and in some New Brunswick communities.
The storm will continue into Wednesday and Halifax Winter Works officials say it could take at least a couple days to dig out of this one.
“Just over 200 pieces of equipment are out on the road right now. Later tonight we will mobilize some heavy equipment, loaders and graders. We will use that while the parking ban is on, push things back, widen things out and side walk clearing is underway now too,” says Darrin Natolino of Halifax Winter Works.
With files from The Canadian Press And CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell and Kelland Sundahl
