'Not a very nice night': Blizzard-like conditions to continue into Tuesday
Whiteout conditions on P.E.I. Monday night, wind gusts of 98km/hr reported
P.E.I. experienced whiteout condition much of Monday as the blizzard that pounded Nova Scotia and New Brunswick blew on to the Island midday.
- See a full list of cancellations on Storm Centre
- Call your cancellation into 1-877-236-9350
"All kinds of snow, all kinds of wind," said CBC weather specialist Kevin "Boomer" Gallant.
As of 4:30 p.m., he noted more than 20 centimetres had fallen in Charlottetown, with winds of 60 km/h causing blowing and drifting snow. Close to 6:30, Gallant tweeted that the Charlottetown Airport had reported a wind gust of 98 km/hr.
"Those winds will actually increase as the sun sets this evening — up to 90 km/h this evening and overnight and much of the morning tomorrow," he said — forecasting at least another 10 cm of snow over that time period as well.
"Not a very nice night to be out on Prince Edward Island," he added.
Cancellations, closures
With very little visibility, police have warned drivers to stay off the roads. Check out current conditions on the province's road cameras across the Island here.
Roads are snow covered and visibility is deteriorating. If you don't need to go out....stay home. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/peistorm?src=hash">#peistorm</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/staysafe?src=hash">#staysafe</a> Cst. Arsenault
—@RCMPPEITrafficAt 6:45 p.m the Confederation Bridge closed to all traffic "until the current weather situation changes." a release said.
Plows were pulled off the roads in late afternoon.
Most flights in and out of Charlottetown Airport were cancelled Monday. Maritime Bus stopped running shortly before noon.
Public schools along with UPEI and Holland College closed. Monday evening, schools just across the Northumberland Strait in the Chignecto school district announced they would remain closed Tuesday.
Businesses including grocery stores, pharmacies and government-run liquor stores closed too. A full list of the latest cancellations can be seen on CBC's Storm Centre page.
Maritime Electric had about 25 customers with no power in Mount Vernon, P.E.I., but was able to restore that by about 8 p.m.
"The road conditions are very bad and visibility is very, very poor," said spokeswoman Kim Griffin.
"We will keep crews ready to respond to emergencies throughout the evening," she added.
'A real mess'
CBC meteorologist Brennan Allen said now that the storm has arrived it is going to stick around a while.
"It is a real mess," said Allen.
"The storm is a slow mover. It's taking a little bit of time to move in and it's going to take a little bit of time to move out."
Winds to be a major factor
He added the strong winds will really blow the snow around.
"We're playing snow shovelling roulette across the Island again today, where your neighbour gets near zero centimetres of snow in their driveway and your driveway could be looking at a drift of 60, 90 centimetres, perhaps a metre," said Allen.
"That's the kind of storm we're dealing with."
The storm will continue into Tuesday morning, and could even linger into the afternoon.
"Tomorrow flurries and winds continue strong until late, late, late in the afternoon," said Gallant.
Islanders would get a "bit of a break" on Wednesday, he said, but another storm is already in the forecast for Thursday.
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