Snow, rain and freezing rain started falling on New Brunswick on Monday, prompting warnings to drivers to slow down or delay travel.
The messy precipitation was expected to last through the night into Tuesday.
Different parts of the province have been issued yellow freezing rain, snowfall and rainfall warnings.
Under Environment Canada’s colour-coded alerts, yellow is the most common and means hazardous weather might cause damage, disruption or health impacts. The impacts would be moderate, localized or short-term, the agency says.
Northern New Brunswick, around Edmundston, is seeing snow mixed with ice pellets, while eastern and central parts of the province are getting freezing rain.
Along the south, Saint John is getting freezing rain but some parts of the Bay of Fundy coast are rainy, including Charlotte County.
Fredericton police warned drivers about road conditions that can “change quickly.”
“Everyone is urged to plan ahead and make safe choices if they must travel,” said Sonya Gilks, the Fredericton Police Force’s public information officer.
The force posted news on Facebook about a bus that had gone into a ditch and brought down some power lines on Hilton Road, in the southeast part of the city. Traffic was being rerouted.
Earlier, Gilks said drivers should make sure all snow and ice is cleared off their vehicles before driving and to delay travel if road conditions worsen.
Gilks also said people who do get on the roads should adjust speeds, increase their following distances and give themselves extra travel time.
“Make sure … that you have gas, make sure it’s at least half full, that your phone is charged, you have an emergency kit with warm clothing, a blanket, maybe a shovel and a flashlight and some basic supplies.”
Forecast into Tuesday
In the southeast, around Moncton, there is a freezing rain warning. Precipitation will begin with a mix of snow and ice pellets before turning to freezing rain and eventually rain overnight.
Central and southern parts of the province, including Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, are under a freezing rain warning. Environment Canada expects freezing rain amounts will be five to 10 millimetres.
The region will first see a mix of ice pellets and snow, which will switch to freezing rain during the day. Precipitation will change to rain overnight as temperatures rise.
For southern and central areas, temperatures will be below freezing on Monday and rise above zero Monday night before dropping again on Tuesday.
Northern New Brunswick will see a mix of precipitation much like the rest of the province.
Edmundston and Madawaska County and Restigouche County are under a yellow snowfall warning with a forecast of 20 centimetres of snow.
The snow is to begin Monday and will taper off to flurries on Tuesday.
Other northern areas, including Bathurst, Campbellton and Grand Falls, have the same freezing rain warning as the rest of the province. Five to 10 mm of freezing rain is forecasted.
Charlotte County in the southwest could get 25 to 35 mm on Monday and overnight.
Weather cancellations
The Saint John-Digby ferry, known as the Fundy Rose, has cancelled the 2:15 p.m. Saint John departure and 5:30 p.m. Digby, N.S. departure.
According to the Bay Ferries website, “wind and sea state conditions” in the forecast led to the cancellation.
Sailing on Dec. 30 from Saint John at 9 a.m. and from Digby at 4 p.m. are also cancelled.
There are no cancellations from the City of Saint John as of 9 a.m. on Monday morning.
Melissa Hachey, a spokesperson for the city, said crews are working today and “will be focused on salting/sanding to prevent icy road conditions.”
In Moncton, the city hasn’t closed any services. Codiac Transpo and the city are monitoring road conditions and will issue alerts if there are closures.
Marley McLellan, a spokesperson with the City of Fredericton, said “services such as Fredericton Transit remain available.”
Sonya Gilks, spokesperson for the Fredericton police, advised drivers to give themselves extra room and time on the road Monday and to delay travel if road conditions worsen. (Michel Corriveau/Radio-Canada)
Saint John has had crews out working since Monday morning, getting ready for the mostly freezing rain expected in the city.
Michael Hugenholtz, the city’s commissioner of public works and transportation, said 80 to 90 people are working.
“We are putting salt or sand down on those hills and intersections to make sure it’s … safe as possible for people,” Hugenholtz said.
He said there are five weather stations across Saint John to help monitor the conditions as they change.