Saint John weather: City declares state of emergency in wake of Maritime storm
3rd massive storm in 7 days has forced 1 city to a declare state of emergency to deal with snow
A massive storm system that brought about 35 centimetres of snow and ice to much of Atlantic Canada has forced Saint John to declare a state of emergency.
Saint John declared a local state of emergency for the uptown and south-central peninsula. It's the first time the city has made the declaration due to snow.
- Wind, flash freeze warnings in effect for Newfoundland
- New Brunswick digs out from third major storm in 7 days
- School cancellations, delays being reported across Nova Scotia
- Heavy snowfall, high winds close down P.E.I.
The state of emergency will include a 24-hour-a-day, week-long parking ban on all streets south of Union Street, starting Tuesday at noon, to allow for snow removal.
The last state of emergency in the area was in 1986, when an underground gasoline leak from an Irving gas station got into the sewer system and caused a series of explosions, destroying a restaurant and damaging three other businesses.
More snow on the way
Many schools and offices remain cancelled across parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I., and Newfoundland and Labrador as the cleanup from the snow and flash freezing conditions continues. The storm that rocked the Maritimes is continuing its assault on Newfoundland and Labrador today.
Road conditions were slippery as crews across all four Atlantic provinces worked through the night a morning to clear icy streets.
Parts of New Brunswick are dealing with 96 centimetres of snow on the ground after three major storms slammed the region in the last seven days. There's another 40 centimetres expected for the southern part of the province Tuesday. New Brunswick is also under an extreme cold warning, with frigid temperatures in the –25C to –35 C range, factoring wind chill.
In the Halifax area, icy buildup from the flash freezing event turned the 25 to 35 centimetres of snow to a concrete-like mass. Vehicles were hard to clear as plastic scrapers were no match for the thick, stubborn ice buildup.
CBC Meteorologist Peter Coade says 57 centimetres were recorded at the Charlottetown airport, with another 10 centimetres possible Tuesday.
Airports across Atlantic Canada are reporting cancellations and delays, though some flights are making it into and out of the region.