Winter storm dumps heaps of snow on northern Inverness County

A winter storm came in off the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Sunday and walloped the western side of Cape Breton Island, but mostly spared the eastern side next to the Atlantic Ocean.

Blair Phillips, the District 2 councillor in northern Inverness County, said so much wet, heavy snow fell overnight, he was reminded of the large winter storm that hit Nova Scotia 20 years ago.

"It's almost like the second White Juan," he said in a Monday morning phone interview from his home in Northeast Margaree. "We got at least 60 centimetres. I haven't really got out to get cleared out yet because I have a long driveway."

In February 2004, a nor'easter dubbed "White Juan" dropped more than 100 centimetres of snow on some areas of Atlantic Canada several months after Hurricane Juan caused widespread damage in the Maritimes.

Phillips said high winds predicted to arrive with the storm this weekend weren't as strong as expected, but he was getting ready to spend a good part of the day digging out.

"I think there's even too much snow for the snowmobile," he said. "I'm leery of getting stuck."

Concern for rural roads

Phillips said he had not been told of any emergencies by Monday morning, but Inverness County officials were worried about the number of roads that need to get plowed in case fire trucks or ambulances are called to rural homes.

Victoria County on the east side of Cape Breton was not hit as hard.

Lyle Donovan, the county's emergency management co-ordinator, said some areas got up to 40 centimetres of snow, but many got less than that.

He said officials with the provincial Emergency Management Office reported the Baddeck and Middle River areas got 35 to 40 centimetres of snow, while Neils Harbour received about 25 centimetres.

North Mountain, which typically receives the most snow in northern Cape Breton, reportedly got 60 centimetres.

Donovan said Nova Scotia's Public Works Department and Parks Canada were working hard to keep the main roads open throughout the region.

"I see they're diligently still working on the Cabot Trail to push the snow back, but the roads appear to be clear at this time," Donovan said.

Storm warnings issued

Both northern Cape Breton counties closed a number of offices and facilities for the day.

Phillips said he couldn't get out to see how the main roads were doing in Inverness, but people in parts of the area will likely still be digging out on Tuesday.

Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings and said wind gusts reached 85 kilometres per hour in Grand Étang, Inverness County, while they reached up to 60 km/h elsewhere on the island.

School was cancelled Monday throughout the Strait Regional Centre for Education, while three schools north of Cape Smokey were closed in the Cape Breton-Victoria region.

Scattered power outages

There were scattered power outages across Cape Breton Island, but most were resolved by early afternoon.

Nova Scotia Public Works reported on its 511 website that the Cabot Trail, Highway 105 in Victoria and Inverness counties, and Route 19 in Inverness County were snow covered.

Route 4 in Richmond County was listed as having snowy and icy patches, but roads elsewhere were wet and bare.

Marine Atlantic cancelled its morning crossings between Port aux Basques, N.L., and North Sydney, N.S., but night crossings were expected to go ahead.

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