Flooding, storm surges, highway closures as blizzard whipped through N.L.

Storm surges and flooding were reported on the south coast of Newfoundland and in Placentia Bay as a winter storm moved through on Friday.

Wind, snow squall and blizzard warnings remained in effect for most parts of the province at 11:30 p.m. 

In Placentia, storm surges caused infrastructure damage to Veteran's Way, formerly known as Beach Road. The town sent staff and the fire department to close down the road, along with Orcan Drive. Pictures were also posted on Facebook of flooding in Coombs Cove on the Connaigre Peninsula.

Route 100 near the Argentia ferry terminal was closed due to flooding.

RCMP shut down the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) west of Whitbourne Friday due to zero visibility. Police said the road in the Chance Cove area was impassable, and a truck was stuck on the highway.

Intense winter conditions elsewhere in the province resulted in Transportation and Works issuing a warning to motorists to stay off several main roads, which continued into Friday night.

With winds gusting between 110 and 130 km/h on the Northern Peninsula, and snowfall amounts expected around 10 centimetres, Route 430 leading to St. Anthony remained a no-go for motorists at 11:30 p.m., the department advised.

Equipment was taken of that road shortly before 6 p.m. as the department said it was too stormy to operate. 

Just after 12 p.m. on Friday, a vehicle slid off the TCH eastbound near the Foxtrap Access Road and into what the RCMP in Holyrood called "deep water."

Police said the lone occupant of the vehicle was "luckily" spotted by another motorist as the vehicle left the road.

"Otherwise no one would have seen the car where it landed," the RCMP said in a press release Friday afternoon. 

Police said first responders brought the individual to hospital before they arrived, so the age and sex of the driver have not yet been confirmed. 

Marine Atlantic cancelled ferry crossings to and from Port aux Basques and said there may be delays Saturday as well, bad news for people heading home for Christmas.

Flights into Deer Lake from Halifax and Toronto were cancelled as well, and Canada Post put Corner Brook and Stephenville under a "red service alert" telling customers it was not safe to deliver mail.

Power outages amidst 'challenging weather'

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro reported power outages and said it was working in blizzard-like conditions to restore power to La Poile, on Newfoundland's southwest coast.

N.L. Hydro was also reporting outages in the Whitbourne and Conception Bay North area Friday afternoon, and shared video of its crews working during whiteouts in the Port aux Basques area.

On Change Islands, Hydro said crews arrived just before noon Friday to "challenging weather conditions," with power restoration expected by 2 p.m.

Advisories and road closures

Transportation and Works issued advisories to stay off the TCH between Stephenville and Port aux Basques, as well as the Burgeo Highway.

In central, most segments of the TCH leading to Twillingate were down to one lane. Extreme caution was advised on nearly every route throughout the region.

In Labrador, advisories were out to avoid Route 510 from Red Bay to Port Hope Simpson, 514 (St. Lewis Access Road), 514 (Charlottetown and Pinsent's Arm Access Road) and 516 (Cartwright Access Road). 

"It's a day to slow down, enjoy yourself and not spend your weekend in a body shop," RCMP Sgt. Boyd Merrill told the St. John's Morning Show, from Holyrood.

"If you don't have good tires on your car, park it."

School openings delayed

The Newfoundland and Labrador English School district announced delayed openings in several western and central Newfoundland schools for the third time this week, with many of them converting to full-day closures as the morning progressed.

Blizzard warnings were in effect for parts of the Northern Peninsula and southern Labrador. 

At 11:30 p.m., western Labrador was still under an extreme cold warning, with a –43 C wind chill this morning. In other parts of the province, wind and blowing snow warnings have been in effect all day and night. 

​The Blanc Sablon-St.Barbe ferry was out for the day, while the following crossings were also stormbound: Ramea-Grey River-Burgeo, Francois-Grey River-Burgeo, Gaultois-McCallum-Hermitage, Recontre East-Bay L'Argent-Pool's Cove, South East Bight-Petite Forte and La Poile-Rose Blanche.

A wind warning is in effect for St. John's, with cancelled flights at the airport, and gusts expected to reach 140 km/h along parts of the coast. 

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