Whether you were sliding down it, driving through it or cursing the heavens as you dug out from under it — there was no escaping the snow in HRM yesterday.
After four months of feeble sort-of-storms, Mother Nature finally threw down the gauntlet overnight Tuesday, dumping 30 centimetres of the white stuff on the municipality — and topping it off with some flurries yesterday afternoon.
Schools and offices were closed, flights were grounded at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, and traffic came to a standstill in parts of the municipality during morning rush hour. Both provincial and federal government offices delayed opening until at least midday, and a number of small communities in the province found themselves without power for several hours.
While warnings were issued late Tuesday afternoon, experts said the storm did pack more of a wallop than anticipated.
“We were calling for 20 to 30 cm, and we got 31 cm officially at the airport,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Bob Robichaud. “The one (surprise) was that it came down pretty quickly … when it did start, the heavier stuff came down in no time at all.”
Despite the messy roads that followed, the morning commute didn’t become a fender-bending nightmare, said police spokesman Const. Brian Palmeter.
“So far we’ve had 16 (minor accidents) reported,” he said yesterday afternoon. “Certainly, it’s a little higher than what we normally see … but given the severe conditions I think that’s pretty good. Obviously, people heeded the advice to stay off the roads.”
Environment Canada is predicting a few flurries mixed with rain showers today, followed by what promises to be a sunny, slush-filled weekend.
Snow budget
HRM has spent $14.3 million so far this winter to keep the municipality’s roads free of ice and snow. The city’s total snow removal budget is $15.3 million, with another $2 million set aside in a reserve fund. According to municipal staff, about 80 per cent of that budget is fixed as it is directly tied to workers and contracts. Last year at this time, HRM had already doled out $18.5 million to contend with snow.
