Heavy snow, rain, and gusty winds are sweeping across Southern Quebec and the Atlantic provinces as the storm that hit many parts of Southern Ontario yesterday moves eastward, Environment Canada warns.
Significant snowfall continues in the southeast regions of Quebec, including in
Montreal, Laval and
Gatineau, expecting to add another 5 centimetres of snow during the day to the
existing 15-25 centimetres accumulated the night before, the agency said in the morning on Jan. 26.
Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow,” said the weather alert.
A winter storm warning was issued for
Quebec City, saying that snow will be accompanied by wind gusts nearing 60 kilometres per hour, affecting areas like Bellechasse, Saint-Lambert, and Lévis. Visibility will be “suddenly reduced to near zero” at times and traffic conditions are expected to be difficult.
The storm also drenched the east coast in wind-driven rain and snow Thursday morning. In New Brunswick, schools are
closed for the day. Many school districts in Nova Scotia have issued bus restrictions while schools remain open in Prince Edward Island.
‘Change to Rain’
A snowfall warning is in effect in the northern and central regions of
New Brunswick, the alerts from Environment Canada said. These regions are expected to experience snow amounting to
20 to 30 centimetres.
“Snow at times heavy will change to rain over all but northwestern parts of the province this afternoon before tapering to scattered showers and/or flurries later by this evening,” the agency said.
“Parts of northeastern New Brunswick will likely experience a period of whiteout conditions in heavy snow and blowing snow late this morning and early this afternoon before the change over to rain.”
An update by Saint John Police at 8.40 a.m. local time said the “snow has turned to rain.”
“Water is pooling on many streets and some localized flooding. Please do not drive through large pools of water or around barricades. Drive slowly due to risk of hydroplaning,” the police said on
Twitter.
The same goes for
Nova Scotia where a brief push of snow will change to heavy rain “at times” reaching 20 to 55 millimeters, “possibly higher along the Atlantic coast,” with the threat of causing flash floods and water pooling on roads, Environment Canada said.
Wind Gusts
A wind warning was also extended across Nova Scotia with wind gusts potentially reaching 90 to 100 kilometres per hour.
“Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur,” the alert said. “High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break. Utility outages may occur.”
Newfoundland and Labrador will experience a mix of rain, snow and wind that won’t subside in most areas until the next morning, according to the alerts.
The Avalon Peninsula, which is home to
52 percent of N.L.’s population according to the 2016 Canadian Census,
will see rainfall of 30 to 50 millimeters and wind gusts hitting 100 to 120 kilometres per hour along parts of the coast and overexposed areas until the morning of Jan. 27.
Meanwhile, much of southern Ontario is
cleaning up from the winter storm, while snow remains in the forecast for parts of
eastern Ontario.
The storm disrupted travel plans for thousands of people Wednesday after Toronto’s Pearson International Airport reported 25 percent of its departures and 26 percent of its arrivals were cancelled, but by Thursday morning those numbers had
dropped significantly.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
