New Brunswick weather: 60 cm of snow blankets Maritimes

• CBC Storm Centre: Check the latest cancellations
• TIMELINE: Maritimes getting heavy snow, ice pellets, freezing rain and rain

"Charlottetown recorded 64 centimetres of snow," Abraham said.

The Moncton area received 53 centimetres, Fredericton received 33 while Saint John had 31 centimetres of snow Sunday.

​"The low pressure centre is still over the Gulf of St. Lawrence with very strong west to northwest winds over the region and snow or flurries, as well as extensive blowing and drifting snow persisting, especially in Prince Edward Island and eastern Nova Scotia."

Environment Canada has issued a blowing snow advisory for eastern New Brunswick, warning of poor visibility.

"Visibility may be significantly and suddenly reduced to near zero," the statement says.

Abraham says as the storm centre moves slowly northeastward on Monday, conditions will gradually improve although temperatures will be well below normal.

Travel conditions difficult

Route 820 in southwestern New Brunswick is closed until further notice between Route 111 and Baxter's Corner, due to blowing snow, the Department of Transportation said.

New Brunswick RCMP say travel is not advised on the Trans-Canada Highway between the Quebec border and Longs Creek.

Ross Mathers, a spokesperson for the Maritime Road Development Corp, which operates the Trans-Canada Highway between Longs Creek and Moncton, is advising people not to travel on that four-lane stretch of highway.

"Go tomorrow," he said. "It's not good. 

"You're going to run a very high risk of going off the road or getting stuck somewhere and it may be a few hours before you get rescued."

Several highways in New Brunswick remain closed on Monday, along with the Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The road closures include:

• Highway 2 between Moncton and the Nova Scotia border.
• Highway 11 from Janeville to Caraquet on the Acadian Peninsula
• Highway 16 between Aulac and Cape Tormentine.
• Highway 116 from Big Forks to Route 126.

​In Saint John, Highway 1 westbound was blocked at the Lorneville exit for about four hours, following an eight- to 10-car pileup Monday morning.

Snow was drifting across the highway at the time, said Const. Tom Clayton.

No one was injured.

Traffic backed up as other vehicles were being directed off the highway.

Tow trucks were used to extricate the vehicles involved in the accident, then highway crews cleared the drifts, said Clayton.

A Saint John Transit bus was sent to pick up the stranded motorists, he said.

The highway was closed again near Spruce Lake shortly before 4 p.m., due to more accidents and road conditions.

On Prince Edward Island, snowplows have been off the roads in the east and west of the province since 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. In the central part of the province, they have been out of service since 8 p.m.

Roads in central P.E.I. are closed Monday because of blowing and drifting snow.

Thousands without electricity

​NB Power outages were being reported by more than 3,000 homes and businesses early Monday, but by about 7:30 p.m., that number had dropped to about 1,042.

Most of those outages are in southeast New Brunswick, with the largest outage being 795 in Sackville.

Shediac has 125 outages, Moncotn, 86, and Bouctouche, 34.

Spokesperson Meghan Gerrish expects 85 per cent of the outages will be repaired by the evening, but there's no timeline for getting the other 15 per cent back online.

The weather in the southeast has been making repairs difficult, said Gerrish.

The utility is working with the Department of Transportation to get back roads cleared so line crews can get through, she said.

Maritime Electric was reporting about 1,600 customers in Prince Edward Island without electricity on Monday afternoon.

NB Power spokesperson Meghan Gerrish says the high winds are to blame.

"Right now it's about accessing the locations and once they get into those locations then people should be back online pretty quickly," Gerrish said.

The City of Moncton has opened a warming centre at the Crossman centre for those affected by power outages.

Schools across New Brunswick are closed

The weekend storm has forced schools across New Brunswick to keep their doors closed.

Universities and colleges have also announced full or partial closures as a result of the storm.

• NBCC Fredericton classes are cancelled and the building will be closed until noon.
• NBCC campuses in Moncton and Dieppe closed this morning. Classes start at 1 p.m.
• NBCC in Saint John is closed for the day.
• All morning and afternoon classes cancelled at University of New Brunswick in Saint John
• Mount Allison University in Sackville closed until noon today
• University of Moncton's campus in Moncton is closed until 1 p.m. An update will be made at 10:30 to announce the re-opening or complete closing of campus for the day.

Due to a provincial holiday, most schools, universities, government offices and businesses in Prince Edward Island are closed Monday regardless of the storm.

Monday weather set to improve

For southern New Brunswick, Monday will be cloudy with flurries and blowing snow, especially in the east.

A mix of sun and cloud is expected by afternoon in the west. Winds will diminish late in the day with a high of –12 C.

For northern New Brunswick, there is a blizzard warning in effect for the Acadian Peninsula for today with snow and blowing snow expected to persist.

Elsewhere in the north it will be cloudy with flurried and sunny periods Monday afternoon in the west.

Winds will diminish late in the day with high near –12 C.

For Fredericton and area, Monday will be cloudy with a few morning flurries and a mix of sun and cloud in the afternoon.

Winds will diminish late in the day and highs expected to reach –12 C.