Emergency declared in Cape Breton as snowstorm leaves much of Nova Scotia paralyzed

HALIFAX – A local state of emergency remains in effect in parts of Cape Breton as Nova Scotia digs out from one of the heaviest snowfalls in 20 years.

On Sunday afternoon, as a stalled low-pressure system continued to dump snow on the island for a second day, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality declared an emergency and urged people to stay at home.

“Do not travel,” the municipality said in an online post. “Roadways are being cleared for emergency response and travel of essential workers. The process is slow and plows require several passes to deal with the significant accumulation.”

Images posted on social media show huge snowdrifts atop homes and outbuildings, buried and abandoned vehicles strewn across major highways, and homeowners using shovels to carve tunnel-like paths to move around their properties.

More than 80 centimetres of snow was reported in eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, but strong winds since Friday have sculpted massive drifts that will take days to clear.

Unofficial records indicate more than 100 centimetres in Sydney, the largest community in Cape Breton. In the Halifax area, between 40 and 50 cm of snow has fallen since Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, schools were closed and government offices delayed opening today across the province, except in the western municipalities, where the snowfall was much lighter over the weekend.

At the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, scores of flights have been cancelled or delayed, and more than 6,000 power outages were reported across the province this morning.

It was almost 20 years ago that a more powerful snowstorm slammed into the region, dumping up to 95 cm of snow in and around the Halifax area. That storm, known as White Juan, came five months after Hurricane Juan made landfall near Halifax, churning out damaging gusts at 140 kilometres per hour.

On Friday, Nova Scotia’s most famous groundhog, Shubenacadie Sam, slowly emerged from his tiny barn on a cloudy Groundhog Day, which prompted his handlers to proclaim springlike weather would soon arrive. A light snowfall started later that day and it continued all weekend.

Feature image: Pedestrians make their way down Bell Road as heavy snow and gusting winds continue to hit Halifax on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. Environment Canada has maintained weather alerts across Nova Scotia with predictions anywhere from 30 to 100 centimetres of snow in parts of the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese