The first major winter storm of 2024 is starting to pull away from New Brunswick.
Most warnings across southern New Brunswick were ended by 4 p.m. Wednesday.
A wind warning continues for Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick, Kent County, Kouchibouguac National Park, and Fundy National Park.
Rain is expected to come to an end Wednesday evening and winds are forecast to start diminishing.
Meanwhile, northern New Brunswick remains under a winter storm warning, with up to 25 centimetres of snow and strong winds in the forecast.
Power outages
With high winds in the forecast, residents are urged to be prepared for possible power outages.
NB Power reported nearly 1,400 homes and businesses without electricity as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Most of the affected customers were in the Kings/Queens, Moncton/Riverview/Dieppe and Kent regions.
There were also outages in the Acadian Peninsula, Carleton, Central York/Sunbury, Charlotte/Southwest, Kennebecasis Valley/Fundy, Restigouche and Victoria/Madawaska regions.
“We have approximately 600 individuals actively supporting restoration efforts with crews in every district,” the utility said in a social media post.
“Crews are actively working to restore current outages and will continue to do so as long as conditions are safe.”
More than 130,000 customers lost power when high winds tore through the province before Christmas. It took crews more than a week to get everyone reconnected.
NB Power outages can be found here, while Saint John Energy outages can be found here.
Impacts on travel
Travel-not-recommended advisories that were in place for several New Brunswick highways have been lifted.
However, driving conditions are still tricky in places and drivers are urged to give themselves extra time.
The latest road conditions can be found on the New Brunswick 511 website here.
Some flight cancellations have been reported at the Greater Moncton International Airport, the Fredericton International Airport and the Saint John Airport.
Bay Ferries has cancelled all of Wednesday’s crossings between Saint John and Digby, N.S., as well as Thursday’s 9 a.m. departure from Saint John.
The Grand Manan and Deer Island ferries have also been suspended until further notice due to weather conditions.
The Westfield ferry is running intermittently due to ice conditions along the Saint John River.
Mail delivery suspended
Do not bother checking your mailbox on the way home from work.
Canada Post has suspended mail delivery for the day in New Brunswick.
The corporation issued a red delivery service alert for the entire province.
“A red service alert means that we are suspending delivery for the day and not sending our delivery agents out or recalling them,” Canada Post said in a news release.
Delivery will resume once conditions improve and it is safe to do so.
School closures
Tens of thousands of students got a storm day with all anglophone and francophone schools closed for the day.
UNB Fredericton, UNB Saint John and St. Thomas University delayed opening until noon.
Oulton College closed its three facilities for the morning and was expected to re-evaluate for the afternoon at 11 a.m.
The Moncton campus of l’Université de Moncton will remain closed until at least 4:30 p.m.
NBCC closed its campuses in Saint Andrews, Fredericton, Woodstock and Miramichi. Its corporate office is also closed for the day.
Eastern College closed its campuses in Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton.
The New Brunswick College of Craft and Design in Fredericton closed for the day.
Crandall University also remained closed, but classes continued online.
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