Some plows off P.E.I. roads again as cleanup from 3-day blast of snow continues

Winter storm warnings have ended as the third day of a major storm comes to a close on P.E.I., with bad roads and high winds having led to the closure of schools, businesses and many medical services on Monday.

The cleanup has been taking some time because of the hard-packed nature of large snow drifts on many key routes, especially in the eastern part of the province.

Yet provincial snow plow drivers were pulled off secondary roads on Monday night, with the government posting on social media that they need some rest before getting back to the job early Tuesday.

"Plow drivers need a break too," the post said. "Plowing is available for emergency services... Unless it's absolutely necessary, please stay off the roads tonight."

Between 40 to80 centimetres of snow fellon central and easternPrince Edward Island since Friday, said CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland, with the highest amounts being reported in the Cardigan area.

"Even though western P.E.I. avoided the worst of this one, a widespread 10 to 20 centimetres looks to have fallen there over that same time,"Scotland said late Monday afternoon."All of P.E.I. saw significant drifting and intense blowing snow which resulted in near-zero visibility and even whiteout conditions at times, thanks to a strong and persistent north-northeasterly wind that saw peak gusts in the 70 km/h to over 80 km/h range."

All public schools on the Island wereclosed Monday, as were the UPEI and Holland College campuses and all provincial government offices province-wide.

The Confederation Bridge closedjust after 10 p.m. AT Sunday, reopening 14 hours later. At Charlottetown Airport,flights to and from Montreal,Ottawa and Toronto were cancelled. Rural transit operated by T3 was cancelled for the day, but the Number 1 bus did run up and down University Avenue in Charlottetown.

A provincial byelection scheduled for Monday in District 19, Borden-Kinkora, was initially postponed until at least Tuesday, before Elections P.E.I. said late in the day that it would now happen onWednesday.

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All scheduled surgeries at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown were postponed as well, and dialysis treatments were among the services that could not be offered.

Late Monday, Health P.E.I. sent out an advisory saying Islanders should "call ahead before travelling to early-morningappointments at hospitals (including surgeries/procedures), clinics and other health-care services scheduled for Tuesday... A formal update about later appointments will be provided by 8a.m."

Talk with the Doc the stormstayed edition

8 months ago

Duration 6:50

Dr. Trevor Jain speaks with CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin about the strain on emergency departments, cases of strep A, and how the weekend storm affected health care on P.E.I.

Plow dispatchers started to send plows out early Monday morning after they were pulled from service late Sunday. Many roads were still blocked late in the afternoon, with heavy drifting reported on some byways that had been cleared earlier.

"When the province removes the snow plows from the roads, we consider there is no reason to keep the [Confederation Bridge] open because people are going to drive on it and they're going to get stuck on the highways on the P.E.I. side," Alexis Reynaud, general manager of the Confederation Bridge, said on Monday morning.

"It's safer to keep them in the parking lot in New Brunswick until it's safe to travel the highways of P.E.I."

Making the best of it: Digging out in Charlottetown

8 months ago

Duration 3:32

Prince Edward Islanders take their first good look at what has come down since Saturday.

Reynaud said it was one of the longest-ever closures of Confederation Bridge, and perhaps the longest.

As for what the forecast holds, Scotland said there could be 5 more centimetresMonday evening through Tuesday afternoon, with north-northeasterly windsstill gusting to up to 60 km/h for most of Tuesday.

"Conditions will improve gradually tonight and Tuesday, but we have a lot of snow on the ground for the wind to move, so blowing/drifting issues may persist Tuesday especially for exposed areas in the morning," he said.

Gusting winds affecttravel

Snow started falling on Friday afternoonand didn't begin to ease until late Mondaydue to a stalled low-pressure system to the southeast of the Maritimes. When snowfall and the winds picked up on Sunday, Environment Canada issueda winter storm warning.

Snowshoes, anyone? Getting to work on snowbound P.E.I.

8 months ago

Duration 2:19

CBC P.E.I.'s Tracy Lightfoot dug out her snowshoes as a brutal winter snowstorm hit the Island for a third straight day. Here's what her commute to the office looked like.

Official measurements are not in yet, but the estimates show 60 new centimetres at Charlottetown Airport since Friday, and more than that in parts of Kings County a whopping 82 centimetres for one weather station in SaintGeorges, east of Cardigan.

The Island's previous biggest snowfall event was March 15-16 of 2015, when 58 centimetres fell.

There was a larger snowfall on Feb. 15-16, 2015, when 86.8 centimetres came down.

Snow events of more than 40 centimetres are unusual on P.E.I., and years can go by without one.