Whiteout conditions close Trans-Canada Highway between N.S., N.B.

Nova Scotia's Department of Transportation has closed a large swath of the Trans-Canada Highway, including the Cobequid Pass, due to poor visibility.

Whiteout conditions have forced the closure of Highway 104 between Truro and the New Brunswick border, according to a spokeswoman with the provincial Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

Pam Menchenton said provincial transportation officials in New Brunswick also closed the section between the Nova Scotia border and Moncton.

That section of the highway affected by the closure is approximately 170 kilometres long.

Menchenton said snowplows are doing a sweep of the highway to make sure no one is stranded.

Detours are in place, she said, but the main artery between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick is closed for the time being.

"It's really due to visibility. Our trucks are out there right now, they're having a hard time seeing," said Kevin Mitchell, director of operations at the Department of Transportation.

"There's no traffic on the road which is good. Everybody has been staying home, but because of the visibility, we really need to take our trucks off the road. It's just not safe out there to be driving with that visibility."

Another section of Highway 104 through the Tantramar Marshes had to be closed earlier also because of low visibility.

Potentially damaging winds are whipping Nova Scotia. Some regions will see winds gusting up to more than 100 kilometres per hour in some areas. CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell said visibility is well below one kilometre. 

Nova Scotia and P.E.I.could see between 40 to 50 centimetres by day's end.