Environment Canada meteorologist Linda Libby said it looks like P.E.I. has dodged an early blast of winter.
A special weather statement issued for the province earlier this week was cancelled Friday morning.
“When it was first put up it looked very scary,’’ Libby said Friday. “It was a rapidly-intensifying system . . . but it really evolved in the last 24 hours.’’
However, many Islanders woke up on Friday to see only small mounts of snow on the ground. Libby said the Stratford area was the hardest hit with fewer than three centimetres, but the system that left that snow was merely a “disturbance’’ and not the one meteorologists were keeping an eye on.
That original forecast had periods of snow late Friday into today. The western part of the province was looking at up to 10 centimetres of snow in what Libby referred to as a weather bomb.
However, things changed, and P.E.I. was expected to stay on the rainy side of the storm track.
“It’s more dud than weather bomb,’’ Libby said, referring to the change in forecast.
Parts of Newfoundland and Labrador won’t fare quite as well.
SaltWire Network meteorologist Cindy Day said on Twitter Friday that western parts of the province could see up to 15 centimetres of snow by today while higher elevations could see up to 25 centimetres.
Even though P.E.I. escaped the worst of the weather, plow crews in Charlottetown were at the ready just in case.
Scott Adams, manager of public works for the City of Charlottetown, said the city has 13 sidewalk machines ready to go, not including the two spares it has in the event of a breakdown.
The city’s fleet includes eight trucks that have the ability to plow the streets and lay down salt as well as an additional five trucks that are only used for plowing.
The city also utilizes two private contractors that handle about 130 kilometres of roads combined. The contractors have about 10 pieces of equipment, about five each for the work.
In addition, the Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy designates two plow trucks to clear approximately 25 kilometres of city roads.
The Guardian attempted numerous times Thursday and Friday to get comments from Transportation Minister Steven Myers or someone in the department but was not successful.
Libby said parts of the Island could still see up to five centimetres of snow by today. Winds will also gust up to 50 km/h.
As for Monday, Libby said it’s going to be a chilly day for those attending outdoor Remembrance Day services.
A cold front is expected to slide across the southern Maritimes Sunday night, resulting in winds out of the northwest gusting up to 50 km/h and temperatures hovering around -2 to -5 C.
“And, with that wind it’s going to feel colder,’’ Libby said.
She added that there are showers in the forecast, but things are expected to taper off before 11 a.m.
Libby said Environment Canada is also keeping its eye on a system for Tuesday and Wednesday that could involve all facets of precipitation, including ice pellets and freezing rain.
