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More than 3,000 Newfoundland Power customers were without electricity on Wednesday morning, as heavy snow and high winds hit eastern and central Newfoundland.
Outages were reported throughout the Avalon Peninsula — including St. John’s, Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, Flatrock, Fermeuse and Heart’s Delight.
According to Newfoundland Power’s website, the outages had no estimated restoration time as of 8 a.m. and the cause for most was listed as severe weather conditions.
Schools, businesses and government offices were closed Wednesday morning, as parts of the island dealt with another walloping of snow.
About 22 centimetres of snow had fallen at the St. John’s International Airport as of 6:30 a.m., with another 20-40 expected throughout the day and into Wednesday evening.
The CBC’s Laura Howells reports from the top of a snowbank in St. John’s, where schools and government buildings are closed as snow and winter winds whip through the area.
Rob Carroll, a meteorologist with the Gander weather office, said he expects those amounts to be even higher in areas with higher elevation.
The snow is paired with a strong northerly wind, with gusts reaching as high as 100 km/hr in coastal areas.
“That will help generate some blowing snow and poor visibility throughout the day,” Carroll said.
The province’s school board made a rare call on Tuesday evening, announcing schools would be closed in the metro St. John’s region before the storm hit. The provincial government did the same, letting employees know all offices would be closed on Wednesday.
By morning, school closures were expanded into central Newfoundland as well.
Metrobus and GoBus services will not be running throughout the day.
There’s a long list of delayed or cancelled flights at St. John’s International Airport, with the last flight landing just before midnight on Tuesday.
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