(Saint John) The persistent storm system that dumped significant amounts of snow on eastern Newfoundland over the past two days gradually eased on Saturday.
Area residents have begun shoveling under more than 50 cm of snow across the northern Avalon Peninsula in the northern Avalon Peninsula, home to the provincial capital of St. John’s.
“At the St. John’s Airport, the two-day snowfall total is 71.8 cm,” observed Mike Vandenberg, meteorologist at Environment Canada’s Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador office. , in an interview. “The snow is starting to lessen and for the rest of the day we have mostly cloudy skies with northeast winds gusting to 70 km/h in the afternoon. »
Throughout Saturday, approximately 5 to 10 cm of snow was expected to fall on the Burin Peninsula and 10 to 20 cm on the southern Avalon Peninsula, with the possibility of higher amounts locally,
Vandenberg said parts of the northern Avalon Peninsula received snowfall totaling between 70 and 80 cm. According to reports, 54 cm of snow fell on the Bonavista Peninsula, while the Gander area received about 25 cm.
Meanwhile, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says a 46-year-old man was rescued after a swerve near the Trans-Canada Highway in Conception Bay South Friday evening.
The man attempted to walk home but became disoriented. He was found by police four hours later with the help of city snow removal vehicles.
He did not require medical attention.
The City of St. John’s kept all facilities, including recreational spaces, closed Saturday to allow for snow removal. Transit buses also remained off the roads, while stores and the city’s Avalon mall remained closed.
This is the second storm to engulf eastern Newfoundland in less than a month.
“It’s certainly an unusually heavy snowfall for the month of March in St. John’s,” said Vandenberg, who added that the city’s average snowfall for the month is typically between 50 and 60 cm.
“Fortunately, we have a break at least for tonight and tomorrow,” he stressed.
However, Mr Vandenburg warned that more severe weather conditions were ahead from Monday.
“We don’t know exactly what this system will look like,” he said. This will likely be a situation where precipitation will fall as rain over eastern Newfoundland and likely as snow inland and over higher terrain in parts of central. »