Snow and wind whip P.E.I. as storm rolls in from the east
Kevin Yarr | CBC News | Posted: December 13, 2022 10:53 AM | Last Updated: December 13, 2022
Snow will continue into Wednesday, with a warming trend overnight before another freeze
Snow and strong gusts of wind have made driving conditions hazardous across P.E.I. Tuesday.
As of 7 p.m., nearly 700 Maritime Electric customers were without power, according to the utility's outage map.
"Snow continues to push west through the afternoon and evening, with a gusty 50 to 80 km/h northwest wind, gusts topping 90 km/h possible for exposed/coastal areas," said CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland.
"Road conditions will deteriorate during this afternoon and evening, with blowing and drifting snow, and I can't rule out potential local outages as well due to high wind."
The storm will continue through the night, tapering off around dawn. The wind will start out of the north, shift to the southwest in the early morning hours, and then turn around out of the north again.
These winds will create blowing snow conditions that will reduce visibility.
The southwest wind will bring warmer temperatures, with the possibility of ice pellets, freezing rain and rain, but the precipitation will turn back to snow when the wind shifts back to the north.
Pounding surf
Higher than normal tides could also come with the storm, Environment Canada said in an associated special weather statement.
Pounding surf from high winds will impact north- and west-facing shores, particularly Tuesday evening when the tide is high.
Travel restrictions
In addition to Northumberland Ferries cancelling all sailings for Tuesday, Confederation Bridge also restricted certain classes of vehicles from crossing as of about 3 p.m. Tuesday until the high wind situation changes.
Restricted classes include automobiles towing trailers, motorcycles, high-sided vehicles including trucks, tractor trailers, recreational vehicles and buses.
If you're waiting for a flight to arrive or depart, it's best to check the Charlottetown airport website for updates. At least three flights have been cancelled.
Schools, UPEI, Holland College impacted by storm
Because the storm was moving in from the east Tuesday, the Public Schools Branch staggered school closures.
- Bluefield, Charlottetown, Morell, Souris, and Montague families of schools were closed for the day.
- Three Oaks, Kensington and Kinkora families of schools closed two hours early.
- Schools in the Westisle family dismissed at the regular time.
All PSB after-school student related activities were cancelled.
In the French Language School Board, La-Belle-Cloche, François-Buote and École Saint-Augustin were closed for the day.
UPEI closed at 1:30 p.m. All Holland College centres were also closed.