Islanders in central and eastern P.E.I. woke up to delays and restrictions amid a winter storm that began Sunday evening and continued into Monday morning.
Opening delays
The Souris, Morell and Montague families of schools, as well as École La-Belle-Cloche, were closed Monday. All other Public Schools Branch and French-language board schools opened after a one hour delay.
Island Montessori Academy in Charlottetown and Stratford opened at 9 a.m.
UPEI’s campus in Charlottetown opened at noon, while its campus in St. Peters Bay was closed for the day.
The Georgetown and Scotchfort centres of Holland College remain closed for the day.
All provincial civil service offices in Kings County had opened by 12:30 p.m.
Island Waste Management Corporation cancelled garbage collections for Route 313, Morell, Melbourne, Lorne Valley and surrounding areas due to road conditions.
Travel delays, restrictions
The Charlottetown Airport’s first flight of the day with service to Toronto was delayed.
For user safety, the Confederation Bridge restricted certain classes of vehicles from crossing until the current high-wind situation changes. The restrictions have been in effect since Sunday night, and officials estimate they could be in place until around 2 p.m. Monday.
This comes amid weather alerts from Environment Canada, including a winter storm warning that remains in effect for Kings County. The special weather statement for Queens County has ended.
“Periods of snow and strong winds will continue to give areas of blowing snow today” in Kings County, said Environment Canada.
“Visibility will be suddenly reduced to zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow.”
The weather agency said the conditions are expected to continue throughout the day, easing in the late afternoon or evening.