As if all the political and financial turmoil weren’t enough, 2008 just had to get in one more shot.
Thanks
to an overnight blizzard most Nova Scotians welcomed in the New Year by
waiting for a cab, waiting for an airplane, or just trying to figure
out how they’ll dig themselves out of their home.
In total
about 30 centimetres of snow fell on Halifax throughout the blizzard.
That’s a record-breaking amount for New Years Day in HRM.
It
was also windy, with Environment Canada recording gusts up to 88
kilometres per hour. That’s not as bad as the storm that hit the
province before Christmas, but combined with the snow it created
whiteout conditions.
Despite the whiteouts, there were no
serious accidents on the roads in and around Halifax. Police said the
most they saw were a few minor fender-benders.
Nova Scotia
basically became a no-fly zone. Flight schedules at the Halifax
Stanfield International Airport were a sea of red “cancelled” signs as
of New Years Day morning.
But things could have been worse.
Because they saw the storm coming most airlines cancelled their flights
the night before. That meant very few people were stranded in the
airport.
“Some of these cancellations were posted last night.
A few were made this morning. Most people are savvy enough to check
with their airline first so they’re not spending hours and hours
sitting in an airport,” said airport spokesman Peter Spurway.
Cab
companies warned the public beforehand that there would be delays in
service and they were right. Even the next morning dispatcher lines
were constantly busy.
The few things that were scheduled for
yesterday were mostly cancelled. The Lieutenant Governor’s New Year’s
Levee was put off and will be rescheduled.
Environment Canada spokeswoman Colleen Farrell said there’s no sign of another storm coming yet.
“Not in the foreseeable future. Now, it is wintertime in the Maritimes, so conditions can change,” she said.
