Blizzard warning in place for Nova Scotia, with up to 70 cm of snow possible

Please note: This story was published in February 2017. It does not contain a current weather forecast for February 2018.

Up to 70 cm of snow whipped by high winds is threatening to wallop Nova Scotia on Monday, with blizzard warnings in place for the entire province and storm surge warnings for some coastal areas.

Two low pressure systems will come together just north of Long Island in New York State on Sunday. The resulting weather system will rapidly strengthen and move to a position just south of Yarmouth, N.S., then slowly pass east, affecting all three Maritime provinces and eventuallyNewfoundland and Labrador.

• Blizzard warning issued for southern N.B., up to 55 cm of snow possible
• Blizzard warning in effect for P.E.I.
• Ryan Snoddon: Latest weather updates for Newfoundland and Labrador

"The Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia could in particular see some very high local amounts as bands of snow continue to linger and accumulateMondaynight intoTuesday," said CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell.

Total snowfall amounts by Tuesday morningare expected to range from 40 to 70 centimetresfor the western portions of the province, 30to 50 cm for the remainder of the province and Cape Breton, Environment Canada said Sunday afternoon, increasing earlier snowfall estimates.

The weather agency said in its blizzard warning that winds may gustup to 110 km/h. (Les Sutewinds local to the west coastal highlands of Cape Bretonmay reach 140 km/h.)

"The strong winds will create extensive drifting and blowing snow," Mitchell said. "Visibility is expected to drop to, or less than, 400 metres for prolonged periods of timeon Monday."

High snowfall amounts

The snow begins late Sunday night in the southwest of Nova Scotia.

It is forecast to spreadacross the Maritimesthrough Mondaymorning and into the afternoon.

There are storm surge warnings in place for much of the coast, including the Halifax and Sydney areas. Flooding is possible.

"Extreme caution should be taken if working on, or in the vicinity of, the coast during high tideson Monday," Mitchell said.

Mitchell posted aFacebook Liveupdate on the storm at 5:30 p.m. AT.

"Winds will slowly subsideMondaynight intoTuesdaymorning but remain gusty for much of the Maritimes," Mitchell said. "Areas of drifting snow can be expected to persiston Tuesdayespecially where there is still some snow falling."

Storm affecting rest of Atlantic Canada

The system will bring similar conditions to the rest of the Atlantic provinces.

In New Brunswick, a blizzard warning is in place for for the province's south, including Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton,while a band across the middle of the province is under a winter storm warning. Snowfall amounts between 30 and 55 cm are expected, with winds gusting to 100 km/h.

A blizzard warning is in place for all of Prince EdwardIsland, with 25 to 35cm of snow expected along with 100km/h wind gusts.

There is a winter storm watch for Newfoundland, where 15 to 30centimetres is expected over the island's southeastby the end of the day Tuesday. In Labrador, more than 15 centimetres of snow is possible in the southeast, with winds gusting to 80 km/h.

Closures and cancellations

On Sunday nighta number of school boards in Nova Scotia preemptively closed schools for Monday because of the storm.

All schools and offices in the Halifax Regional School Board and the Chignecto Central Regional School will be closed.

The most up to date information on closures and cancellations throughout the province can be found on Storm Centre.

Travel not recommended

Environment Canada and police in the region say travel is not recommended during the storm, noting that roads are expected to be extremely hazardous due to poor visibility. Numerous flights in and out of the region have been cancelled.

Halifax Transit has already cancelled all buses and ferries for Monday.

The regional municipality has also cancelled tomorrow's curbside pick-up and said all municipal offices, customer service centres and recreation facilities will be closed.

"We haven't had one of this capacity in quite a while. Last year was a bit benign compared to what we're experiencing now at the beginning of this week," Environment Canada meteorologist Jason Sheppardsaid.

"I suspect there will be some happy kids tomorrow as school is potentially cancelled."

Sheppard said extreme weather has been slow to start this winter, but explains that a recent shift in the jet stream has put Atlantic Canada right in the path of brewing storms from the U.S. eastern seaboard.

After this one, he said another one appears to be on its way for later this week for the Maritimes and possibly Newfoundland.