Snow, slush and rain make for slow, sloppy drive
Posted Feb 12, 2013 06:04:37 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Overnight snow and rain created the perfect combination for a slow, sloppy drive this morning.
About five centimeters of snow fell overnight, a bit more than expected, and slush on the roads is funneling small rivers through city streets.
City crews are out clearing the mess as best they can but there’s only so much they can do to stop the huge ponds from forming on the roadway.
Just like yesterday, you’ll probably want to plan a bit of extra time to get where you’re going.
RCMP Sgt. Anthony Pompeo tells News 95.7, the 100 series highways are slick and the slush means there’s a hydroplaning risk.
“If drivers aren’t proceeding according to the road conditions, there’s that risk,” he explains. “Driving with caution is certainly a good thing to practice.”
Meteorologist Richard Zurawski says the temperature will dip back below freezing later today, but he adds that will happen gradually.
“For the next week or so what we’re looking at is above normal temperatures, so each day the temperature will be above the freezing temperature and five degrees,” he says.
He adds the snow will still melt going forward, but much slower than originally thought which reduces the risk of flooding.
Zurawski explains why these warmer temperatures today won’t stay long.
“It looks like this disturbance that’s affecting us is actually moving south of the region and the cold front is coming through more quickly,” he says. “As a result, we’re not going to get nearly as much of a melt as we thought yesterday.”
The snow and ice and water led to a rare avalanche warning to be issued for the Maritimes yesterday.
As rare as it is, Zurawski says those warnings needs to be taken seriously.
School cancelled
Road conditions led the Halifax Regional School Board to cancel school for the day in Musquodoboit, Eastern Shore and the Duncan MacMillan Family of Schools.
Schools in Kings County and West Hants were open, but bus drivers were using their discretion on side roads.
Buses were only travelling on paved roads in the South Shore Regional School district.
Metro Transit supervisors detoured several buses to their snow routes early Tuesday morning, but by 8 a.m. most were back on their regular routes.
