Yay, a smaller storm of ours makes the National news. :-p
And for the record, I *was* outside and it was beautiful.
Blizzard pummels Atlantic Canada as third storm in seven days hits region
Sun Jan 23, 5:47 PM ET
SUSAN AITKEN AND KEITH BONNELL
HALIFAX (CP) - A fierce blizzard that left much of Atlantic Canada buried under half-a-metre of snow was expected to keep battering the region Monday, especially parts of Cape Breton and Newfoundland.
The storm, the third blizzard to hit the East Coast in a week, pummelled Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and much of New Brunswick on Sunday with heavy snow and gusting winds, disrupting flights in all three provinces.
"This is the Atlantic provinces," said a bundled-up Janice Jackson as she made her way along a snow-clogged sidewalk in downtown Halifax on Sunday.
"These storms are normal for the East Coast. This is what you grow up with."
The weather was expected to linger over Cape Breton on Monday - dumping up to 70 centimetres on parts of the island.
People in Newfoundland, some of whom were still digging out from an earlier weekend storm that brought them 60 centimetres of snow, were in for another 30 cm, forecasters said.
The storm Sunday played havoc with transportation services, as flights at airports in Halifax, Charlottetown and Saint John, N.B., were cancelled until Monday morning.
"The problem is visibility for the pilots," said Gina Connell, a spokeswoman for the Halifax airport authority. "With the blowing snow it makes it very difficult."
The road conditions were also treacherous, and a six-car pile up on Highway 1 between Sussex and Saint John, N.B., was being blamed on whiteout conditions, ATV News reported.
Snow removal crews were expected to work through the night, although plows had been ordered off several sections of highway in Nova Scotia because of the hazardous conditions.
Except for a few winter enthusiasts and the occasional brave pizza delivery man, the snow-filled streets of Halifax were eerily quiet - as city bus service was cancelled.
"There's nobody else around, the wimps," laughed Andrew Terris, who was out for a walk in the winter wonderland, with only his eyes not covered by clothing.
"I love going out in the storms," he said. "It's about direct experience, not sitting in your living room like a couch potato . . . it's out in the real world, the storm, the tempest."
Wind gusts reached 128 kilometers per hour in southern Nova Scotia, and windchill in the region was reaching -35 C, according to forecasters.
While the snow was expected to come to an end in much of the region overnight, the winds were to continue into Monday.
The weekend storm, which rolled through Ontario on Saturday before reaching Atlantic Canada, followed two other heavy snowfalls on the East Coast, one last Monday, followed by a second Thursday.
The latest storm, the strongest of the three blasts from Old Man Winter, drew comparisons with another blizzard that hit the region in February 2004.
Comparing storms to the White Juan blizzard has become common since the record-setting storm dropped almost a metre of snow on some parts of the region last year.
"It's certainly starting to look like the February blizzard of 2004," said Mike Myette of Nova Scotia's Emergency Measures Organization.
"People should be prepared to look after themselves for a period of about 72 hours," said Myette.
"A battery operated flashlight and a battery operated radio, really at this point in time, with what we've gone through have to be key elements in every household."
Blizzard pummels Atlantic Canada as third storm in seven days hits region
Sun Jan 23, 5:47 PM ET
SUSAN AITKEN AND KEITH BONNELL
HALIFAX (CP) - A fierce blizzard that left much of Atlantic Canada buried under half-a-metre of snow was expected to keep battering the region Monday, especially parts of Cape Breton and Newfoundland.
The storm, the third blizzard to hit the East Coast in a week, pummelled Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and much of New Brunswick on Sunday with heavy snow and gusting winds, disrupting flights in all three provinces.
"This is the Atlantic provinces," said a bundled-up Janice Jackson as she made her way along a snow-clogged sidewalk in downtown Halifax on Sunday.
"These storms are normal for the East Coast. This is what you grow up with."
The weather was expected to linger over Cape Breton on Monday - dumping up to 70 centimetres on parts of the island.
People in Newfoundland, some of whom were still digging out from an earlier weekend storm that brought them 60 centimetres of snow, were in for another 30 cm, forecasters said.
The storm Sunday played havoc with transportation services, as flights at airports in Halifax, Charlottetown and Saint John, N.B., were cancelled until Monday morning.
"The problem is visibility for the pilots," said Gina Connell, a spokeswoman for the Halifax airport authority. "With the blowing snow it makes it very difficult."
The road conditions were also treacherous, and a six-car pile up on Highway 1 between Sussex and Saint John, N.B., was being blamed on whiteout conditions, ATV News reported.
Snow removal crews were expected to work through the night, although plows had been ordered off several sections of highway in Nova Scotia because of the hazardous conditions.
Except for a few winter enthusiasts and the occasional brave pizza delivery man, the snow-filled streets of Halifax were eerily quiet - as city bus service was cancelled.
"There's nobody else around, the wimps," laughed Andrew Terris, who was out for a walk in the winter wonderland, with only his eyes not covered by clothing.
"I love going out in the storms," he said. "It's about direct experience, not sitting in your living room like a couch potato . . . it's out in the real world, the storm, the tempest."
Wind gusts reached 128 kilometers per hour in southern Nova Scotia, and windchill in the region was reaching -35 C, according to forecasters.
While the snow was expected to come to an end in much of the region overnight, the winds were to continue into Monday.
The weekend storm, which rolled through Ontario on Saturday before reaching Atlantic Canada, followed two other heavy snowfalls on the East Coast, one last Monday, followed by a second Thursday.
The latest storm, the strongest of the three blasts from Old Man Winter, drew comparisons with another blizzard that hit the region in February 2004.
Comparing storms to the White Juan blizzard has become common since the record-setting storm dropped almost a metre of snow on some parts of the region last year.
"It's certainly starting to look like the February blizzard of 2004," said Mike Myette of Nova Scotia's Emergency Measures Organization.
"People should be prepared to look after themselves for a period of about 72 hours," said Myette.
"A battery operated flashlight and a battery operated radio, really at this point in time, with what we've gone through have to be key elements in every household."