Nova Scotia winter storm bringing up to 35 cm of snow

The winter storm that is expected to bring up to 35 cm of snow in Nova Scotia this evening and overnight is causing problems for travellers as road conditions get slicker and more flights are cancelled.

The storm began early Saturday with freezing rain and ice pellets, which made roads very slippery across most of the mainland.

• Send in your cancellations to the CBC Storm Centre at 1-877-236-9350

Travel warnings

Police and transportation officials are asking people not to venture out in their vehicles unless it is necessary.

From southwestern Nova Scotia through the Annapolis Valley and into Halifax Regional Municipality, reports of cars in ditches and minor collisions started coming in Saturday morning and continued into the afternoon.

Most flights at Halifax Stanfield International Airport are either cancelled or delayed.

• FORECAST: Windy, wintry weekend expected before nor'easter off Nova Scotia's coast

Communities on the southwestern Atlantic coast will see less snow than the rest of the province, about 10 cm, said CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell.

Some areas from the Annapolis Valley through Truro, the North Shore, and Inverness County in Cape Breton could see local totals of 20 to 35 cm. Freezing rain and winter storm warnings remain in place for most of the province.

Strong winds and blowing snow

Strong northeasterly winds will  accompany this system, and blowing snow is expected throughout the evening.

"Wind gusts are expect to increase to 50 to 70 km/h by this evening. The gusts may have an increased chance of creating power outages if there is a lot of ice glaze on tree branches or power lines," Mitchell added.

No power outages were reported by late afternoon.

Halifax has issued a ban on street parking from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday.

Air Canada, Porter Airlines and WestJet have issued travel alerts, advising passengers to check for changes to arrival and departure times. They've also waived the cost of changing flights.

Marine Atlantic ferries were arriving and departing according to schedule on Saturday afternoon.

The storm will affect Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick as well, but not to the same degree as Nova Scotia.