There may be fewer than 10 centimetres of snow on the ground but it looks and feels like a whole lot more than that in P.E.I. today.
So much so that schools did not open and provincial government offices closed down early.
An advisory posted by Strait Crossing indicated the winds have led to restrictions on the Confederation Bridge.
Restricted classes include automobiles towing trailers, motorcycles, high-sided vehicles including trucks, tractor-trailers, recreational vehicles, and buses.
Bridge restrictions were put into place at 11 a.m. They will remain in place until the winds die down.
As of 11:15 a.m. only one regional flight had been cancelled.
A number of businesses either didn’t open or locked up and sent their employees home before noon.
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Snow started falling on the Island Sunday and was still coming down Monday morning, but as of 10:30, accumulations had only reached eight to nine centimetres, according to Environment Canada.
Denis Thibodeau, a forecaster with Environment Canada, said the snow is expected to taper off around noon.
“It might be early afternoon before the snow stops falling but then the winds are going to pick up causing blowing snow and reduced visibility. You might be looking at a couple of more centimetres but the bulk of it has already down. Fifteen centimetres would be the maximum.”
"It might be early afternoon before the snow stops falling but then the winds are going to pick up causing blowing snow and reduced visibility." - Denis Thibodeau, Environment Canada
Thibodeau said Islanders could expect to see wind gusts of between 50 and 90 km through the afternoon and into the evening.
By suppertime, snowfall warnings had been withdrawn by Environment Canada, but wind warnings remain.
“Winds will be from the northwest through the morning and early afternoon. They will be coming from a more westerly direction by late afternoon,” Thibodeau said. “By mid-evening they will come down a lot.”
There’s no precipitation in the forecast for Tuesday but the temperature will drop down to -14 degrees. It’s expected to remain cold for much of the week.
