Storm-swept Avalon faces blowing snow threat into Saturday
Piles of snow covered most roads across the Avalon Peninsula on Friday night as the last half of a storm moved through the region
A rough spell continues across the Avalon Peninsula as the season’s first decent winter storm spreads heavy snow and gusty winds across the region.
Safe travel will remain difficult if not impossible overnight into early Saturday as snow-covered roads and poor visibility persist throughout the Avalon, including in St. John’s.
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We’re on track for snowfall totals of 25-35 cm once the snow wraps up in the wee morning hours Saturday. Gusty winds of 60-80+ km/h will lead to extremely low visibility and near-whiteout conditions at times.
A screen capture of the George Street webcam in St. John’s around 9:00 p.m. local time on Friday. (Courtesy of NTV News.)
Webcams overlooking St. John's operated by NTV News revealed extremely low visibility amid the heavy, blowing snow plastering the region on Friday evening. Most roads were covered with snow, and visibility dropped to a few dozen metres during stronger wind gusts.
We’ve seen a bevy of disruptions as a result of this wind-driven snowfall. In addition to multiple flight cancellations Friday evening, Metrobus announced that service would end at 9:00 p.m. Friday due to unsafe road conditions.
The combination of heavy snow and gusty winds will make safe travel difficult if not impossible across the Avalon through Friday night and into Saturday morning.
The snow will gradually draw to an end by Saturday morning, though wind gusts of 70 km/h through the day will lead to reduced visibility as the freshly fallen snow continues blowing around.
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Avoid travel if at all possible, and plan ahead if you have to venture out during the wind-driven snow. Ensure you have emergency supplies in your vehicle in case you get stuck.
Farther south, folks in parts of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island could see a touch of sea-effect snow behind this system.
Another round of snow is on the way for the Maritimes this weekend as a powerful, moisture-rich storm arrives from New England.
Header image courtesy of Colin Lane in St. John's, Newfoundland.