Schools across P.E.I. to close early as messy weather heads to the Maritimes

The Bluefield, Charlottetown, Morell and Souris families of schools will join other schools on P.E.I. in closing, by dismissing three hours early Thursday. The Montague family of schools will dismiss two hours early.

French-language schools including École Saint-Augustin, École François-Buote and École La Belle Cloche will also close three hours early. Immanuel Christian School will close at noon.

A snowfall warning issued by Environment Canada remains in effect for western Prince Edward Island, where the region could see between 15 and 25 centimetres of snow before the storm moves on.

Snowfall is expected to be heaviest later in the afternoon, with possible periods of ice pellets in the evening.

Holland College's western P.E.I. campuses, including the Summerside Waterfront Campus, Atlantic Police Academy and West Prince Campus, will close at noon. The college's Charlottetown locations and Georgetown Centre will close at 1 p.m.

All UPEI locations will close for the day at 1 p.m. The AVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital will remain open for emergencies.

Schools in Prince County were cancelled early Thursday as a winter storm system is expected to bring significant snowfall to the region in the afternoon and evening.

Classes were cancelled for the day at the Westisle, Three Oaks, Kensington and Kinkora families of schools due to the forecast. Three French-language schools — École Pierre-Chiasson, École Évangéline and École-sur-Mer — were also closed.

Special weather statements remain in effect for Queens and Kings counties, where up to 15 centimetres of snow could accumulate.

"Strengthening southeasterly winds during the freezing precipitation could lead to scattered utility outages," the statement reads.

Wind conditions may result in traffic restrictions on the Confederation Bridge beginning approximately 7 a.m. on Friday until approximately 6 a.m. on Saturday.

The storm system is approaching as Prince Edward Island's power utilities grapple with uncertainty due to a damaged transformer at a key Maritime Electric substation near Summerside.

Islanders have been asked to conserve energy for three straight evenings, and on Thursday morning, Maritime Electric said it continues to ask customers across the Island to conserve electricity during peak hours from 6 to 10 a.m. 

"This is especially important for customers in Prince County and will help alleviate the load on our system," the utility said on social media.

Two Air Canada flights — one to Montreal and one to Toronto — have been cancelled in advance of the weather system. The Montreal-bound flight did not arrive Wednesday night, and the early-morning flight to Toronto was also grounded.

Maritime Bus is also warning there could be disruptions to bus runs due to weather today.