HALIFAX — Blowing snow battered parts of Atlantic Canada for the second time in three days Wednesday, closing businesses and government offices and snarling transportation in the region.
Environment Canada meteorologist Darin Borgel said Nova Scotia bore the brunt of a slow moving low pressure system south of the province that was expected to dump up to 30 centimetres or more snow on northern and eastern areas of the province throughout the day.
There was potential for higher amounts with the rapidly intensifying storm, said Borgel.
"The further east you go the longer the snow will persist and the more snow we're expecting," he said.
Borgel said lower amounts were expected in southeastern New Brunswick and in P.E.I., although wind gusts of up to 70 kilometres an hour were causing snow drifts and visibility problems throughout the region.
"We are looking at a lot of blowing and drifting snow as an issue in a lot of areas well into Thursday," he said.
The storm closed universities, colleges and all government offices in Nova Scotia.
The arrivals and departure board at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport was a sea of red as most flights were cancelled or delayed. By mid-morning, transit officials in Halifax decided to keep city buses off the streets for the remainder of the day.
Police in Halifax and Cape Breton asked motorists to stay off the roads as well because of poor visibility and to allow snowplow drivers to do their jobs.
Schools were also closed for the day in southeastern New Brunswick and in parts of central and western Newfoundland.
The storm arrived on the heels of another that blasted the region Sunday, dumping more than 40 centimetres of snow in many areas.
Borgel said people were beginning to feel as if they are under a deluge as they shovel more snow.
"The snowbanks are pretty high in almost all of the Maritimes right now. I think people don't know where they are going to put it now."
