'Spring can come anytime now': Cape Breton sees second spring storm in a week

Residents in the Sydney, N.S., area woke up to white-out conditions on the final day of March.

"Spring can come anytime now. I'm ready for the flowers and the beautiful colours,” said Angelina Kieley, as she shoveled her driveway in the city’s south end.

It’s the second Friday in a row people had to dig out in Cape Breton. The area received hardly any snow back in December and January, but now, it seems like the elements are making up for lost time.

Mason Meade, who owns a construction and plowing company, spent the day doing peoples' driveways.          

"I don't think Mother Nature's ready for spring yet.”

Snowfall caused transit buses to be taken off the roads during the morning hours for the second Friday in a row, and garbage collection was also canceled during the morning.

"This is two major snowfalls a week apart, in March,” said CBRM spokesperson Christina Lamey. "We would have had no solid waste collection the previous Friday, and then next Friday is Good Friday, so also no solid waste collection. So it would have been quite a stretch for people not being serviced."

The spring storm also caused other cancellations. Canada Post pulled letter carriers in the area off the road and Cape Breton University cancelled morning and afternoon classes, before reopening for the evening.

"It's not unusual for us, or unexpected, but it's definitely aggravating,” said Lamey.

By late morning, the snow had tapered and the cleanup was well underway. Transit buses were back on the roads by noon and solid waste collection had resumed for the day.