School Buses Delayed As Storm Cleanup Continues

Tuesday’s mix of snow, ice pellets and rain has left behind what can only be described as a sloppy mess in the region.

All buses in the Anglophone South School District are running on a one-hour delay Wednesday morning. Schools will be open at their usual time.

In the Francophone South School District, buses in the Saint John and Quispamsis area are running one hour late, while all other schools in the district are closed.

Spencer Clements, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the hardest-hit areas vary, depending on the type of precipitation.

“For rainfall, it was definitely Saint John. For snowfall, it would have been from Moncton, northward and westward through central New Brunswick, where we average 15 to 20 centimetres,” Clements said Wednesday morning.

“The storm is still ongoing in the north so we don’t really know the totals there yet.”

Environment Canada says 10 centimetres of snow fell at the Saint John Airport, followed by 25 to 30 millimetres of rain. The airport also recorded a peak wind gust of 87 kilometres per hour late Tuesday morning.

Moncton recorded 21 centimetres of snow while Fredericton picked up 16 centimetres.

Meanwhile, volunteer weather observers with CoCoRaHS recorded around eight centimetres in the St. Stephen area, 15 centimetres in the Sussex region, 24 centimetres in the Grande-Digue area, 26 centimetres in New Maryland (just outside of Fredericton) and 34 centimetres in the Miramichi area.

Clements said a storm like this one, with such varying types of precipitation, is not usually expected in February.

“It’s certainly not uncommon for it to happen in the winter, but this time of year, our last week of January and our first of February are climatologically the coldest every year across the Maritimes, so if there was a time it was least likely to happen, it would usually be this particular time of year, he said.

Roads are mainly clear around the city as of Wednesday morning, though sidewalks and parking lots are a bit slick, so be cautious if you are on foot.

Despite the heavy rain, there are no major flooding-related issues we are aware of, besides a bit of water pooling on some roadways.

With files from Tara Clow.