Nova Scotians already buried under as much as 80 centimetres of snow hunkered down and braced for more as this winter storm extends into a third day.  The heavy, continuous snowfall prompted the Cape Breton Municipality to call for a local state of emergency.  The municipality’s Mayor Amanda McDougall made the announcement in a video posted to her Facebook Sunday.  McDougall says the local state of emergency is needed to keep people at home and off the roads.   Cape Breton could see as much as 150 cm of snow by the time the storm system passes.

 

 

Schools across much of Nova Scotia are closed today due to the winter storm.

This includes Pictou, Cumberland, Colchester Counties, and classrooms in the Halifax, Cape Breton and East Hants municipalities.

Transit services are also cancelled today in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

 

 

As of 4:00am this morning, Nova Scotia Power was estimating that there were about 150 power outages, affecting more than 6000 customers.  The majority of those outages are in Cape Breton, Pictou County, Antigonish County and Guysborough County.

Nova Scotia Health is advising that some non-emergency services have been reduced in the Northern zone due to the ongoing heavy snow and poor road conditions.

·         Northern Zone: (Colchester County, East Hants, Pictou County, and Pugwash areas only.):

·         Emergency surgeries only Monday; elective surgical procedures and endoscopies are cancelled.

·         Ambulatory care and outpatient clinics will only see urgent cases and patients. Patients will be contacted directly to confirm or reschedule their procedure.

·         Non-urgent diagnostic imaging (X-Ray, MRI. CT, etc.) and blood collection appointments are cancelled.

·         Cancer care and renal dialysis will continue as scheduled.

·         Mental Health and Addictions program will offer outpatient visits virtually where possible.

·         Primary care, continuing care and public health will not offer outpatient appointments and will provide care virtually as possible.

·         Parrsboro Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) and Lillian Fraser Urgent Treatment Centre will be closed.

 

 

Pictou County District RCMP are investigating a fatal crash that occurred in Green Hill.  The single vehicle crash happened last Thursday morning shortly before 10:30am on Greenhill Rd. Officers arrived on the scene to find that a car travelling on Greenhill Rd. left the roadway and came to a rest on its roof in the ditch.  The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, a 62-year-old Westville man, was pronounced dead at the scene.   An RCMP collision reconstructionist attended the scene and is assisting in the investigation.

 

 

Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit is investigating a suspicious death that occurred in Paq’tnkek.  On Sunday, shortly before 3:00 a.m., Antigonish County District RCMP responded to a report of a sudden death at a home.  The victim is a 40-year-old man and his death is being treated as suspicious.  A 27-year-old man, known to the victim, was arrested at the scene and is currently in custody.  At this time, investigators do not believe this was a random act and there’s no risk to the public.