Nova Scotia gets first major blast of winter

Much of Nova Scotia is getting its first full blast of winter.

Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings for much of mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton on Friday, but discontinued those for Annapolis, Digby, Kings, Lunenburg, Queens, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties by 9 p.m. on Friday. 

As of Saturday morning, snowfall warnings were discontinued across the province. 

The agency estimated 15 to 20 centimetres of snow would fall Friday and possibly into Saturday morning, though that number may be higher in some areas.

Most schools across mainland Nova Scotia were closed Friday, and there were early dismissals for all Strait Regional Centre for Education schools in Guysborough and Antigonish town and county.

All of the Nova Scotia Community College campuses were also closed. The Marconi and Pictou campuses were scheduled to close at noon. 

All public libraries in the Annapolis Valley are closed, save for the Hants location.

In the Halifax area, Captain William Spry Public Library will remain closed Friday. Within the Western Counties Regional Library system, Clark's Harbour and Shelburne public libraries delayed opening until noon on Friday.

South Shore Public Libraries has announced that the Bridgewater and Liverpool libraries, as well as its bookmobile, will be closed.

Musquodoboit Harbour Public Library and Sheet Harbour Public Harbour closed shortly after noon on Friday. All Colchester-East Hants public library locations closed at 2 p.m., while the Canso Public Library closed at 2:30 p.m.

Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library also announced 2 p.m. closures of all Pictou County libraries and the Antigonish Library. All Cumberland Public Libraries were set to close at 3 p.m.

Halifax Stanfield International Airport warned in a tweet that travellers should confirm their flight details before going to the airport as the weather may cause flight delays and cancellations.

In a tweet, Canadian Forces Base Halifax said Stadacona, HMC Dockyard, Windsor Park and Willow Park are open and 12 Wing Shearwater will operate at minimum staffing. Naval Fleet School Atlantic is closed for the day.

Shelter hours

The Beacon Winter Shelter in Lower Sackville, N.S., at 125 Metropolitan Ave. is open all day and has expanded capacity with a checkout time of 7 a.m. tomorrow morning. The Christ Church Emergency Overnight Shelter in Dartmouth on 61 Dundas St. will also have additional beds and will open tonight at 8 p.m.

The Town of Antigonish has issued a winter parking ban for any town-owned street or parking lot from 12 a.m. to 7 a.m on Friday. As well, Halifax Regional Municipality has issued a parking ban for both central and non-central zones that will be enforced from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. 

Along the coast, snow may mix with rain, the agency said, which could reduce snowfall amounts in some areas.

Environment Canada also warned travel conditions could quickly deteriorate due to accumulating snow.

Throughout Halifax, several bus routes have been put on snow plans due to the weather, with a full list of detours posted to the Halifax Transit Twitter account.

CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin said the weather system from the south will push eastward as the day wears on and gusty northeast winds will increase into the afternoon.

"Snowfall totals by Saturday morning will range from 10 to 20 centimetres in Nova Scotia, with pockets of 20 to 30 centimetres most likely to occur in the Cape Breton Highlands," Simpkin said.

She added that some of the precipitation could fall in the form of ice pellets and freezing rain along the coast.