‘A messy day ahead,’ another winter storm keeps some Newfoundland schools closed
Much of Newfoundland is waking up to blustery and messy morning that has shuttered schools as another storm slams into the island.
Environment Canada has issued several weather alerts across the island of Newfoundland.
Orange winter storm warnings and yellow wind warning are in effect for parts of the Avalon Peninsula, with large swaths of central Newfoundland facing yellow winter storm warnings.
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In advance of the snowstorm, NL Schools pre-emptively closed schools in the metro St. John’s area with an update at 10:30 a.m. NT. Many schools across central Newfoundland are also closed for the day due to the weather.
Meteorologist Robert Grove said as of Tuesday morning, around 15 centimetres of snow has already fallen on the Avalon Peninsula, with another 10 to 15 centimetres expected to come down before changing to freezing rain and ice pellets in the afternoon.
“So it’s still going to be a messy day ahead,” he told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.
He said the Burgeo and Connaigra areas can expect to get between 10 to 15 centimetres of snow. The Burin Peninsula is set to get an additional five to 10 centimetres of snow, which will change to either freezing rain or ice pellets in the morning, but is expected to change back to snow as the temperature drops.
In the Clarenville and Bonavista areas, Grove said precipitation will also mostly stay snow but could mix with some ice pellets in some areas in the afternoon.
“Some gusty winds too, looking at gusting anywhere from 70 to 80 km/h except for Bonavista and the Bay de Verde Peninsula. On the Avalon there, looking at some gusts near 100 over exposed areas of the coast this evening,” said Grove.
“Overall, it’s going to be pretty messy.”
Grove added across the Avalon winds will strengthen in the evening and temperatures will fall and the rain and drizzle will shift back to snow, “so another dirty evening visibility-wise.”
Traffic is also being impacted, with MetroBus taking its buses off the road for the morning with an update coming around 10 a.m. NT.
Memorial University is also keeping its St. John's, Marine Institute and Signal Hill campuses closed, with an update scheduled for 11 a.m.
The St. John’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeal is closed for the morning, with an update at 11 a.m. As well, the St. John’s provincial court is also closed with an update at 11 a.m. and courts in Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor are closed for the day.
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This article was originally published for CBC News. With files from The St. John's Morning Show