The Avalon Peninsula is being slammed with its first blizzard of the new year, shuttering schools across the region and grounding some flights.
Environment Canada meteorologist Allison Sheppard said the St. John’s International Airport recorded 38 cm of snowfall with winds gusting up to 104 kilometres per hour.
“So really, a good old fashioned blizzard,” Sheppard told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.
The winter storm warning has ended for the Burin area, she said, adding that it looks like across the southern Avalon and Terra Nova area that the snowfall is set to end on Monday morning.
“But it’ll be closer to noon before everything really pulls out for the northern Avalon and Bonavista regions,” said Sheppard.
Winds will continue to gust between 100 and 110 kilometres per hour along the eastern Newfoundland coast, she said.
“I think the worst of it is over, in terms of snowfall. But it’s going to be awhile before things start to clear up for everyone out there,” she said.
Crews cleaning up
St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen said city crews are on the streets, clearing snow.
“It’s a major, major undertaking. But our crews are out, working away at it and hopefully when it abates a bit, we can get ahead of it a bit more.”
He said at the moment, the roads are not clear and advised people to take precautions.
“If you don’t need to go out, you shouldn’t go out there right now,” said Breen.
He said people staying off the road helps the city’s snow clearing efforts and the city website now has a section for weather updates that people can check out for the latest information.
He said the service standards up 25 centimetres of snow is to have all the roads open within 24 hours from when the snow fall ends.
“In situations like this, with the drifting and the higher volume of snow that we’ve had fall, that can be extended a bit. So it’s going to be a while yet,” said Breen.
He said he expects the crews will be out clearing up the mess into Tuesday.
Closures, delays
Memorial University also says its St. John’s campuses, including the Marine Institute and Signal Hill campuses and childcare centre, are closed for the morning with an update at 12:30 p.m.
Across the Avalon, NL Schools announced all schools were closed for the day and St. Bonaventure’s College in St. John’s and École Rocher-du-Nord also announced they would not open.
The King’s Bridge Montessori school also announced it was not opening.
The weather is also resulting in business closures.
Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation stores in the region will be closed for the morning, with an update around noon.
MetroBus and GoBus announced its fleet would not be on St. John’s streets Monday morning and an update would come around noon.
The storm is also impacting the St. John’s International Airport, with several flights either cancelled or delayed.
The Bell Island ferries MV Beaumont Hamel and MV Flanders are also staying dockside due to the poor weather conditions.
Courts in St. John’s, including Family Justice Services and the sheriff’s office, will be closed for the morning. An update will be made at 11 a.m..
The adverse weather is also impacting municipalities in the region. The City of St. John’s is keeping city hall and its recreational facilities closed for the morning, with an update coming at 11:30 a.m. The Robin Hood Bay Waste Management Facility will remain open, however public drop off will be closed.
Hebron Way, from Sea Rose Avenue to Major’s Path, is also closed due to heavy drifting and poor visibility.
“This closure will remain in place until the weather subsides and crews can clear the area,” said the city.
The town of Paradise also decided to close its town hall and Paradise Double Ice Complex for the day due to weather conditions.
The town of Conception Bay South said its town hall, recreation complex, CBS arena and Robert French Memorial Stadium will be closed during the morning, with an update later.
The snow started Sunday night around 8:00 p.m., with snowfall amounts on the Avalon between 20 to 35+ cm. It is expected to taper to flurries starting Monday morning into the afternoon.
Snowfall will amount to 10 to 20 cm for the rest of eastern region of the island.
Winds and heavy snow created blizzard conditions with near-zero viability, though this should improve once the snow tapers to flurries in the morning.
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