An early taste of winter in New Brunswick has left thousands without power and led to some school closures and bus delays on Friday.
Environment Canada had been calling for 15 to 20 centimetres of snow across much of New Brunswick — except up to 10 centimetres in the Saint John area — but the totals appear to be considerably less for many.
Around 10 centimetres has fallen at the Greater Moncton International Airport while around four centimetres has been recorded at the Saint John Airport.
Volunteer observers are reporting up to 15 centimetres in the Fredericton region and just a few centimetres in Charlotte County.
Power outages
Nearly 46,000 homes and businesses across the province were reported to be without electricity as of noon Friday.
There were more than 13,000 customers affected in the Central York Sunbury district, which includes the Fredericton area.
NB Power also reported more than 11,000 customers out in the Kent area, more than 10,000 in Northumberland Miramichi and more than 3,000 in the Carleton region.
There were also more than 2,400 customers impacted in the Greater Moncton area, more than 2,000 in the Kings/Queens region, more than 1,100 in Sackville/Port Elgin and more than 1,100 in Charlotte Southwest.
Scattered outages were also reported in the Victoria/Madawaska, Kennebecasis Valley/Fundy, Acadian Peninsula and Chaleur regions.
School closures, bus delays
All schools in the Anglophone South and Anglophone East districts opened on schedule Friday morning but buses ran on a one-hour delay.
In the Francophone South School District, schools in Saint-Louis-de-Kent, Richibucto, Baie-Sainte-Anne, Rogersville, Miramichi, Fredericton and Oromocto were closed, while buses at all other schools were also on a one-hour delay.
All schools in the Anglophone West School District were shut down, with the exception of Saint Mary’s Academy in Edmundston.
The Anglophone North School District closed its schools in Miramichi, Rexton and Bathurst. Schools in Dalhousie and Campbellton remained open
Transportation
Some flight cancellations were reported Friday morning at the airports in Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John, so it is best to check ahead if you do have travel plans.
Highway 1 westbound near Apohaqui was blocked for some time on Thursday evening after several transport trucks appeared to get stuck.
A large Irving Oil transport truck was partially off the road, and two other trucks were also stopped nearby, blocking both westbound lanes.
The RCMP was on the scene and coordinated to bring snow plows on the road in the opposite direction of typical traffic flow.
