New Brunswick digs out from third major storm in 7 days

As Saint John tries to dig out from more than a metre of snow in the last week, a local state of emergency is now in effect.

Under the state of emergency, which started at noon on Tuesday, parking is banned all week on all streets south of Union Street to allow for the snow-clogged narrow streets to be cleared.

• See the latest blizzard-related cancellations at CBC Storm Centre

Kevin Clifford, the head of Saint John's Emergency Measures Organization and the fire chief, says it's "all about safety" and public access.

Some streets have become inaccessible to emergency vehicles, he said, noting a fire truck got stuck on Wentworth Street Tuesday morning on an emergency call, delaying its arrival.

​Once streets are returned to a stable state, parking will resume, Clifford said during a news conference Tuesday morning.

Until then, any vehicles still parked on streets in the south-central peninsula after noon could be towed.

Clifford says some people may be so frustrated, they're just waiting to have their cars towed. "We don't know," he said.

Tim O'Reilly, the manager of the city's pedestrian and traffic services, says crews have been working 24/7, with operators working 16-hour shifts to deal with the huge volume of snow.

They have 3 plow trucks, 12 sand trucks, and blowers, but are also reaching out to private highway maintenance companies for equipment, said O'Reilly. "We need everything we can get."

Crews will focus on the business area Tuesday night, he said.

"We heard from our fire chief, first off, that he and his crews are having difficulty getting through many of the streets in the uptown peninsula," said Mayor Mel Norton on Information Morning Saint John.

"We have narrow streets to begin with and with all this snow, those streets have become, in many cases, [impassible].

"We need to be able to get fire trucks and other emergency vehicles into all the streets at all times in case there is anything that they have to respond to."

In the last seven days, Saint John and many other parts of New Brunswick have been struck by two blizzards and another significant snowfall on the weekend.

Saint John has received almost 140 centimetres of snow since Jan. 27.

Schools closed again

The latest blizzard to hit the province closed most schools in the province, some of them for the third time in the last six scheduled class days.

Anglophone South, Anglophone East and Francophone South school districts cancelled all classes Tuesday.

In Anglophone West school district, schools from Cambridge Narrows northward to Harvey, including those in Boiestown and Doaktown, were closed. Anglophone North school district closed Miramichi and Rexton schools.

The University of Moncton closed its Moncton campus until 1 p.m. and its Shippagan campus until noon. The university was expected to decide late Tuesday morning on whether to hold classes in the afternoon.

The university's Edmundston campus opened for the day.

Mount Allison University in Sackville was closed until noon, as was the New Brunswick Community College campus in Dieppe.

The University of New Brunswick in Saint John also closed its campus until noon on Tuesday. NBCC Saint John cancelled classes for the day.

Transportation impacted

The Trans-Canada Highway between Moncton and the Nova Scotia border was closed early Tuesday due to poor visibility but reopened around 9 a.m.

Travel on the Trans-Canada Highway between Long's Creek and Moncton is not advised, said Ross Mathers of Maritime Road Development Corp., which operates and maintains the highway.

"The white-outs are there, the snow is blowing back in, particularly in the passing lane and on the ramps," said Mathers.

"It's not a pleasant day out there."

Brun-Way, which operates the Trans-Canada Highway between Longs Creek and the Quebec border, was also urging caution.

Felicia Murphy, a Brun-Way spokesperson, said drivers will see snow-covered roads and  icy patches along the western section of the highway.

"The snowfall has stopped recently, however the very high winds are causing blowing snow," Murphy said.

"Drifting is an issue at this time as well as poor visibility. Basically, if you do have to travel today, please do so with caution."

The RCMP is advising people to be careful when driving on Route 1 between kilometre marker 0 and 239.Public transit services in Moncton and Saint John were also affected by the storm.

In Saint John, no buses were running Tuesday morning, but as of 2:30 p.m., all Routes, including the Comex service to the outlying areas, were in service, with the exception of routes 20, 21, 23, 25, 31 and 34.

Due to poor road conditions and the amount of snow down, however, the city was advising passengers to expect delays.

In Moncton, Codiac Transpo was also advising commuters to allow extra travel time, due to road conditions.

More snow in southeast

CBC meteorologist Peter Coade said the blizzard will continue to bring snow and strong wind to southeastern New Brunswick on Tuesday morning, while northwestern New Brunswick experiences extreme cold.

Snow and blowing snow will continue in southern New Brunswick this morning, says Coade, giving up to 10 centimetres in the southeast.

Northwest wind will gust to 80 km/h in the southeast, then diminish to 30 gusting to 50 km/h late this morning.

The strong winds will make it feel like it is around –30. The high temperature in southern New Brunswick will be about –14 C with a wind chill equivalent of -25.

In the north, the wind will make it feel like –35, according to Environment Canada. The high temperature on Tuesday may reach about –16 C and it will feel like –27.

The wind will be northwest at 30 gusting to 50 km/h in the north, says Coade, veering to west, and there is a chance of an early morning flurry.

It will become mostly sunny across the province throughout the day, he says. 

It will stay clear and cold across the province overnight, says Coade, while the wind diminishes.