P.E.I. RCMP urge caution on the roads as messy weather hits the Maritimes

RCMP on P.E.I. are warning drivers to be careful on Island roads and highways as a winter storm system starts to bring significant snow to the region.

"With lots of snowfall expected over the next few hours, please exercise caution on the roads, especially in western parts of the Island," Const. Jamie Parsons with the RCMP's traffic unit said in a social media post.

"Conditions can deteriorate rapidly. Your safety is our top priority, so take it slow, turn your headlights on, don't just rely on daytime running lights, and drive carefully."

Environment Canada issued a blowing snow advisory Thursday on top of a previous snowfall warning for western Prince Edward Island, where Prince County residents were warned to expect between 15 and 25 centimetres of snow before the storm moves on.

Queens and Kings counties were under special weather statements Thursday evening, with a possibility of up to 15 centimetres of snow and ice pellet accumulation.

"[Thursday] afternoon's heavy snow begins to mix with ice pellets into the early evening hours across the Island," said CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland. 

"This messy mix of precipitation will come with a gusty 30-60 km/h southeasterly wind late this afternoon and evening." 

Scotland said his main concerns for Thursday evening were messy roads and poor visibility, as well as the risk of local outages. 

Travel warnings in place

Travellers were advised to check for online updates before heading to the Confederation Bridge, airport or bus station. 

Wind conditions may result in traffic restrictions on the Confederation Bridge beginning at about 7 a.m. on Friday until approximately 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Two Air Canada flights — one to Montreal and one to Toronto — were cancelled in advance of the weather system. The Montreal-bound flight did not arrive Wednesday night, and the early-morning flight to Toronto was also grounded.

Maritime Bus is warned there could be disruptions to bus runs due to weather.

Power system under pressure

The storm system came as Prince Edward Island's power utilities grappled with uncertainty due to a damaged transformer at a key Maritime Electric substation near Summerside.

Islanders were asked to conserve energy for three straight evenings, and on Thursday morning, Maritime Electric said it continued to ask customers across the Island to conserve electricity during peak hours from 6 to 10 a.m. 

"This is especially important for customers in Prince County and will help alleviate the load on our system," the utility said on social media.

The City of Summerside, which has its own electric utility, was still asking people to conserve power. But a midday update struck an optimistic note as well. 

"Today's wind, along with sunshine and more wind expected throughout the weekend, will help sustain our supply," it said in part. "Thankfully, we have our wind and solar farm along with our battery!"

Government services curtailed

All provincial civil service offices in West Prince and East Prince areas closed at 2:30 p.m. due to weather conditions. Provincial civil service offices in Queens County and Kings county closed at 4 p.m.

In Charlottetown, City Hall and all administrative offices closed slightly earlier than usual, at 4 p.m.

Federally, Service Canada centres in O'Leary and Summerside shut down at 2:30 p.m.

Health P.E.I. warned some services could be impacted by weather and road conditions. Islanders with appointments at hospitals, clinics and other health-care services should call ahead before leaving their homes, Health P.E.I. said. 

Schools, government offices closed

Schools in Prince County were cancelled entirely and other locations dismissed students early Thursday.

"With approximately 21,000 students in our schools each day, any decision to delay, dismiss, or cancel classes impacts thousands of families across Prince Edward Island," the Public Schools Branch said in an email statement to CBC News. 

"Ultimately, the safety of our students is the top priority of the Public Schools Branch, and dismissing early while road conditions were still safe was the best decision to ensure students arrived home safely."

Classes were cancelled for the day at the Westisle, Three Oaks, Kensington and Kinkora families of schools due to the forecast. Three French-language schools — École Pierre-Chiasson, École Évangéline and École-sur-Mer — were also closed.

Other school disruptions included:

• The Bluefield, Charlottetown, Morell and Souris families of schools dismissed students three hours and the Montague family of schools closed two hours early.
• French-language schools including École Saint-Augustin, École François-Buote and École La Belle Cloche also closed three hours early. Immanuel Christian School in Charlottetown closed at noon.
• Holland College's western P.E.I. campuses, including the Summerside Waterfront Campus, Atlantic Police Academy and West Prince Campus, closed at noon. The college's Charlottetown locations and Georgetown Centre shut down at 1 p.m.
• All UPEI locations closed for the day at 1 p.m. The AVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital will remain open for emergencies.