Students dismissed early as double whammy of weather hits region

CITYnews halifax / By Dan Ahlstrand

Residents in Halifax Regional Municipality will dust off their snow shovels today as the region is in the path of a winter storm.

Environment Canada has issued a Special Weather Statement for areas to the north and east of HRM, warning of the potential of 20 centimetres of snow.

95.7 Weather Specialist Allister Aalders says snow will begin to fall in the city on Wednesday morning and continue through the afternoon before tapering off.

A lull in the weather is expected Wednesday evening, but Aalders says some energy is behind the first system, which will generate more snow for HRM overnight and into early Thursday.

“The first round of snow is expected to drop 5-10 cm of snow, then we get that break,” said Aalders. “An additional 2-5 cm of snow is possible overnight.”

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All tolled HRM can expect 8-15 cm of snow before conditions improve on Thursday.

“Certainly not significant snowfall amounts, but certainly enough that the commute home this afternoon(THURS), this evening and possibly early tomorrow could be impacted.

The Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) announced just before 6 a.m. Wednesday that their schools would open as normal, but students would be dismissed 2 hours early because of the weather.

On the website HRCE said:

• Bused students will be picked up 2 hours earlier than their regular dismissal time.
• Non-bused students will be dismissed at their regularly scheduled lunch hour. 
• After school EXCEL programs are canceled.
• If your child is writing exams, your school website will be updated shortly with revised schedule information. You will also receive a message directly from the school. 

Today’s weather is impacting some classes in the region on Wednesday. Schools in Tri-County, Annapolis Valley, Cumberland Colchester, South Shore Regional Centres for Education are closed for the day today.

Many Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial classes are cancelled on Wednesday with students to return an hour earlier than expected from Star of Acadia School Center, Pomquet Acadian School and Beau-Port School.

Students from Belle-Baie School left at 11:00 a.m.

Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University have also announced their Halifax campuses will close at 1 p.m. Wednesday due to the weather.

Halifax Transit says all of its routes are now on snow plans, so delays are likely to be expected.

Halifax Police are urging motorists to adjust their driving for the forecasted snowfall and changing road conditions, advising slower speeds, increased stopping distances, and extra time for commutes.

HRP also reminded drivers to clear snow and ice from their vehicles, including the roof, for better visibility and safety. Pedestrians are encouraged to make eye contact with drivers before crossing and wait for vehicles to stop completely.