First blast of wintry weather hits Cape Breton; winter storm warnings lifted

Cape Breton has seen its first substantial snowfall, which prompted some school closures and made for a tricky morning commute Monday.

Snowplows were out early as Cape Bretoners awoke to the blast of wintry weather.

“It was a busy morning. We started salting and sanding and then it turned to snow and it never let up for a couple of hours. Everybody got called out to tackle the storm,” said Greg Wilneff, a private plow operator in Glace Bay, N.S.

By mid-afternoon the roads were starting to clear, but snowfall overnight made the morning commute hectic, with several minor collisions reported throughout the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Wilneff says the white stuff made for an earlier start than normal.

“I think it was December 6^th or 7^th we had our first storm last year, so it is earlier this year,” he said.

The early start sent many drivers scrambling to get their snow tires on.

The staff at OK Tire in Reserve Mines, N.S., was busy trying to keep up with appointments.

“Today with the first snowfall everybody is in a bit of a panic, but we tell people to drive safe and we will get to you as soon as we can,” said John Finlayson, who owns the business.

Finlayson says bookings started slow because of the warmer-than-normal temperatures this fall, but now they’re backed up and working to keep up.

“Oh it’s crazy. We’re booked for at least three weeks, but we will try to get people done,” he said.

The weather prompted some schools in the Cape Breton-Victoria and Strait Regional centres for education to cancel classes for the day.

The snow also delayed some Transit Cape Breton buses, as municipal crews urged motorists to stay off the streets early Monday morning. 

“The snow-plow operations started early this morning. We actually had to put out a winter warning to try and get cars off the road, if possible, to allow the plows to clear,” said Christina Lamey, a spokesperson with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

The municipality is reminding residents not to park on the side of the road when snow is in the forecast.

WINTER STORM WARNINGS LIFTED

Winter storm warnings were in effect for northern Inverness and Victoria counties Monday morning. Environment Canada lifted the warnings shortly after 1 p.m.

Environment Canada had issued the warnings Sunday afternoon, calling for snow totals of near 35 cm in the Cape Breton Highlands, accompanied by wind gusts near 90 km/h.

St. Anns and Middle River reported around 14 cm of snow, while roughly 27 cm of snow fell on the Cape Breton Highlands. The airport in Sydney, N.S., has recorded about 16 cm of snow.

The more intense weather was being driven by a cold and gusty west wind blowing over the relatively warmer waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.