Winter storm conditions wreaked havoc in several Canadian provinces Wednesday, as heavy snow blanketed parts of the Maritimes, Ontario and British Columbia.
Snowfall warnings remained in effect Wednesday night for much of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as southern and southeastern parts of New Brunswick. Snow fell across the region for much of the day, whipped up by high winds that gusted up to 80 kilometres per hour. Environment Canada warned that some areas could receive as much as 30 centimetres of snow by Thursday morning.
CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster reported Wednesday evening that 6,000 customers in Nova Scotia between Truro and Bridgewater were without power, as well as about 1,000 customers in the St. Stephen area of New Brunswick.
The season's worst snowstorm closed schools, community centres and government offices across the Maritimes, and residents packed grocery stores to stock up on supplies. The storm also cancelled dozens of flights at airports in Halifax, Charlottetown and Moncton.
Snowfall warnings were also issued for parts of Newfoundland, which is expected to get hit by the storm on Thursday.
Over in British Columbia, Environment Canada snowfall warnings remained in effect for southeastern parts of the province, where up to 10 cm of snow was forecast for most of the Columbia and Kootenay districts on Wednesday, with an additional 10 to 20 cm expected overnight.
As warmer air moves into the region Thursday, the snow may turn to rain, the agency warned.
On Vancouver Island, snow conditions forced Via Rail to cancel trains between Victoria and Courtenay on Wednesday, while road travel advisories were issued for travellers venturing between Ladysmith and Nanaimo. Heavy snow and rising temperatures also raised avalanche concerns in the Coquihalla Pass.
In Toronto, an overnight snowfall kept snowplows busy on city highways, while frustrated drivers saw longer-than-usual morning commutes. The director of transportation services, Peter Noehammer, said the city deployed 200 salt trucks, 600 road snowplows and 300 sidewalk plows to clear transportation routes.
CTV Toronto's Dana Levenson said Toronto police had responded to dozens of minor accidents as a result of the weather. By 9 a.m., CAA South Central Ontario had received 900 calls. While about 10 cm of snow fell on Toronto, as much as 25 cm of snow fell in other parts of southern Ontario.
Nearly 200 flights were cancelled at Pearson International Airport, while Porter Airlines, which operates out of the Toronto Islands, warned travellers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
Air Canada warned travellers to expect possible delays or cancellations for flights into Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and New York, all of which got hammered by the same weather system. Parts of the northeastern U.S received as much as 60 cm of snow, with Massachusetts declaring a state of emergency.
