Winter walloped: snow-weary Nova Scotia digs out from latest blast
Many people in Nova Scotia were once again digging out from a blizzard on Wednesday, less than two weeks after a historic storm left some people snowed into their homes for days.
The strong nor’easter brought upwards of 30 centimetres of snow to some areas of the province, and cleanup in Cape Breton was compounded by a recent multi-day snowfall that dumped 150 centimetres in downtown Sydney.
With snowbanks already piled high, RCMP were urging people to stay off the roads, Cape Breton Regional Municipality cancelled transit service and all public schools on the island were closed.
RCMP Cpl. Gary McLaughlin said high winds and blowing snow were creating the worst road conditions he’s seen in the 16 years he’s been a traffic services officer.
“I’ve worked throughout some of the snowiest areas in British Columbia in the mountain passes. This trumps all of them. I have never in my life seen anything like this,” McLaughlin told Information Morning Cape Breton.
McLauhglin said several vehicles became stuck on the province’s 100-series highways, making it difficult for plows to keep them open for emergency crews.
“The highway crews are strapped to the max right now, just trying to keep corridors open to the hospital,” he said.
Police tell CBC News some roads are impassable preventing tow trucks from helping those stuck in the snow in the Sydney area. Nicola Seguin explains.
Some people in Cape Breton remained snowed-in for days following the storm on Feb. 2-4, prompting the province to ask for help from the federal government.
Team Rubicon, a veteran-led humanitarian organization that helps communities in times of crisis, has been on the ground in Cape Breton since Feb. 8.
It’s the first time they’ve helped with a significant snowfall, but team members were told to stand down on Wednesday morning until conditions improved.
“Tow trucks aren’t allowed on the road. RCMP is just begging people not to go on the road,” said incident commander Christian Saulnier, adding he hoped teams would be able to venture out later Wednesday.
“We take care of ourselves first. We have to be ready to deploy and we have to make sure it’s safe.”
Saulnier said a team of 55 people would be helping to shovel people out, which could save crucial minutes in the event of a medical emergency.
Cape Breton Regional Police Const. Gary Fraser said there were about a dozen vehicles stranded and blocking roads in the municipality. He said that’s another reason people were being urged to stay home.
“With the high winds, it’s hard to see anything coming toward you, or if there’s a car stranded on the side of the road, you could run into it,” he said.
“I know people do have to get out. Drive very, very, very cautious. It’s extremely, extremely bad out.”
CBRM’s public works department said crews would focus on the main roads Wednesday, but side roads would likely have to wait.
Many schools across mainland Nova Scotia were also closed on Wednesday, including the Halifax, South Shore, Strait and the Chignecto-Central regional centres for education.
Halifax Transit pulled its buses off the road Tuesday night, but service resumed Wednesday morning.
Winds whipped up snow Tuesday night in Halifax, creating hazardous road conditions.
Some provincial government offices were forced to close or delay opening, and a handful for flights were cancelled at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin said the storm was moving into Newfoundland Wednesday morning, but heavy snow continued to fall in eastern Cape Breton.
As the powerful storm blew through the province Tuesday evening, a notification sent to Halifax Regional Municipality’s mass notification system warned there were “many accidents and delays” in the region.
Nova Scotia’s Department of Public Works said Tuesday night on X that several tractor-trailers were stuck on Highway 102.
Halifax Ground Search and Rescue was checking in on people living in tents. It was also offering to take people to emergency shelters to ride out the storm.
When dealing with snowfalls of any size, the Nova Scotia Department of Public Works has specific strategies and equipment to get the job done.
