P.E.I. schools, government offices close as messy weather heads to the Maritimes

Schools in Prince County were cancelled entirely and other locations dismissed students early Thursday due to  a winter storm system that is expected to bring significant snowfall to the region in the afternoon and evening.

Environment Canada has now issued a blowing snow advisory on top of a snowfall warning for western Prince Edward Island, where Prince County residents 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.

Queens and Kings counties are under special weather statements, and residents are being warned to expect messy driving conditions as the day goes on. 

Environment Canada said 15 centimetres of snow could fall in central and eastern P.E.I. before "a changeover to ice pellets or freezing rain, and then rain showers late this evening and overnight. Strengthening southeasterly winds during the freezing precipitation fall  could lead to scattered utility outages."

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.

Other school disruptions included:

• The Bluefield, Charlottetown, Morell and Souris families of schools dismissed students three hours and the Montague family of schools closed two hours early.
• French-language schools including École Saint-Augustin, École François-Buote and École La Belle Cloche also closed three hours early. Immanuel Christian School in Charlottetown closed at noon.
• Holland College's western P.E.I. campuses, including the Summerside Waterfront Campus, Atlantic Police Academy and West Prince Campus, closed at noon. The college's Charlottetown locations and Georgetown Centre shut down at 1 p.m.
• All UPEI locations closed for the day at 1 p.m. The AVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital will remain open for emergencies.

All provincial civil service offices in West Prince and East Prince areas were closed at 2:30 p.m. due to weather conditions. Service Canada centres in O'Leary and Summerside also shut down at 2:30 p.m.

Travel warnings too

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

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. 

Travellers are being asked to check for online updates before heading to the bridge, airport or bus station. 

Power system under pressure

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.

The City of Summerside, which has its own electric utility, is still asking people to conserve power. But a midday update struck an optimistic note as well. 

"Today's wind, along with sunshine and more wind expected throughout the weekend, will help sustain our supply," it said in part. "Thankfully, we have our wind and solar farm along with our battery!"