Snow chokes Maritime city, emergency declared to clear clogged roads

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — A state of emergency has been declared in Saint John, N.B., after the third storm in less than a week dumped 29 centimetres of snow on the city overnight.

Before the storm began Monday, the city already had almost 100 centimetres of snow on the ground.

With more snow in the forecast, city officials said emergency vehicles were having a tough time getting around in the narrow streets in the city's southern peninsula. The city said that created a risk to public safety.

Many of the streets in Saint John were impassable early Tuesday. Others were reduced to one, slippery lane. People were walking on the street because sidewalks were not plowed.

"It's dangerous," said Devon Duplisea, who was shovelling snow for a property development company.

He parked his car on the street to get the job done but had to drive around the block every time another car approached.

"If one person gets stuck, you're toast."

Duplisea said the city didn't do enough to remove snow that had built up over the week.

"They had nighttime to get dump trucks to pull away this snow, and it seems like we're left to fend for ourselves."

Sheri Whitaker was bundled up and carrying her coffee as she trudged along the street to get to work at Saint John High School.

"You gotta do what you gotta do to get to work," she said, adding that she was concerned about public safety.

"I don't even know if emergency vehicles can get down here."

Environment Canada said a low-pressure system tracked northeastward over the Maritimes late Monday, bringing heavy snow, strong northeast winds and wind-chill values near -30 C.

"It's been difficult to keep up with the rate of snowfall," said Jean-Marc Couturier, a forecaster with Environment Canada in Halifax.

Road closures, school cancellations and flight delays were reported across the region.

In Charlottetown, the storm dumped 59 centimetres of snow, paralyzing much of the city. Moncton reported 44 centimetres, adding to a heavy snowfall that happened last week. Greenwood recorded the most snow in Nova Scotia at 34 centimetres.

In Halifax, the morning commute was difficult after 24 centimetres of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain combined to make a frozen mess. With a flash freeze warning in effect, the morning temperature dropped by as much as 10 degrees in little over an hour.

Meanwhile, winds gusting at more that 100 kilometres per hour were reported in parts of Cape Breton.

The storm was expected to make its way to Newfoundland and Labrador, bringing high winds and heavy snow to some areas.

Couturier said another low-pressure system is expected to hit the Maritimes on Thursday, bringing more snow and strong winds.