Schools close, driving hazardous as wintry blast moves over Atlantic Canada

HALIFAX – Many schools in Nova Scotia were closed or delayed their openings after a snowstorm lingered over the province overnight and then moved into Newfoundland.

Winter storm warnings remain in effect for Nova Scotia’s northeastern mainland, where another five centimetres of snow was expected today.

Environment Canada says the western side of Cape Breton is expected to get between 25 and 40 cm of new snow, with gusts reaching up to 90 kilometres per hour, making driving hazardous.

Meanwhile, all ferry crossings between eastern P.E.I. and Nova Scotia were cancelled because of strong winds across the Northumberland Strait.

Farther north, Newfoundland and southern Labrador were blanketed by warnings for high winds, blizzard-like conditions and blowing snow.

Many schools and government buildings in central and western Newfoundland were closed, at least for the morning.

The forecast was calling for northeasterly gusts reaching up to 130 kilometres an hour, causing blizzard-like conditions as 40 to 45 cm of snow fell along parts of the coast of Notre Dame Bay and Bonavista Bay, Environment Canada said.

As well, the Marine Atlantic ferry service cancelled morning and night crossings between North Sydney, N.S., and Port aux Basques in southwestern Newfoundland.

Environment Canada warned of damaging winds along Newfoundland’s Bonavista and northern Avalon peninsulas, which includes the capital of St. John’s. Gusts there could reach 140 kilometres an hour in some areas, the agency said.

Residents were advised to prepare for power outages and to tie down anything that could blow away.

In St. John’s, the overnight snowfall had turned to rain by mid-morning, and many of the capital’s streets were blanketed in a soupy mix of snow and slush.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2025.