You won’t get your mail today.
Canada Post issued a red delivery service alert for our province Friday.
That means no letter carriers will be on the road, and no mail will be delivered.
Officials say it’s due to hazardous conditions being caused by the freezing rainstorm.
They say delivery will only resume once it’s safe to do so.
Update: Feb. 4 11:00 a.m.
Winter parking ban in effect
You’re going to have to find some place for car tonight.
The city has activated its winter parking ban.
Any vehicle parked on the street between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Saturday can be towed to make way for snow clearing efforts.
The ban is in effect for all of urban and suburban Halifax.
We’re in for another winter mess.
Environment Canada is warning of widespread and extended power outages ahead of a freezing rainstorm Friday.
Ian Hubbard, meteorologist with Environment Canada, says it doesn’t look good.
“It’s going to be pretty bad,” he says. “It’s a very long period where it’s going to be considered to be the worst of it, so most of the day Friday isn’t going to be very good.”
Hubbard says the rain is expected to continue from late Thursday into Saturday morning. He says, along with the freezing temperatures, we could see severe ice buildup.
“We will see some ice buildup on surfaces and things like that, so highways and roads, sidewalks, they can be very slippery and icy, and hazardous to people,” he says. “Certainly, we always are aware of ice building up on things like tree branches.”
As much as 40 millimetres are in the forecast.
A trough approaching the Maritimes is going to stall over us for the better part of two days.
This means extended periods of snow (blue), ice pellets (pink) freezing rain (red) or rain (green) depending on your location. #nsstorm
Further details at: https://t.co/hPQkabOhZu pic.twitter.com/9IgT3jF4O8
— ECCC Weather Nova Scotia (@ECCCWeatherNS) February 3, 2022
Meantime, Nova Scotia Power is opening up its emergency ops centre (EOC) at 7 a.m., and will have crews around the province ready to respond to outages.
So far this year, we have a seen a significant number of severe weather systems impact Nova Scotia,” says Sean Borden, Nova Scotia Power’s storm lead. “Weather forecasts are calling for a heavy amount of rain, freezing rain, snow and ice pellets beginning overnight Thursday and continuing all day Friday. We are positioning power line crews, forestry and other teams across the province, so we are ready to safely respond as quickly as possible for our customers.”
The EOC is staffed with employees from all parts of the company. It provides a central place to coordinate planning for outage restoration and response. Nova Scotia Power is also coordinating closely with the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office and has a team onsite to help coordinate the response.
“Based on the current forecast this weather system is expected to impact the entire province,” Borden said. “We are taking every precaution and ensuring we have our team and resources, in the right places so we are ready to respond.”
Cancellations & Closures
All HRCE schools are closed
NSCC Metro Campuses (Ivany, Aviation, IT and Akerley) will be closed
Dalhousie’s Halifax and Truro campuses
Saint Mary’s University
MSVU will suspend campus operations. Campus buildings remain closed & on-campus classes are cancelled.
Halifax Grammar School
All NSCAD campuses will be closed
Provincial government offices will be closed
Stadacona, HMC Dockyard, Windsor Park and Willow Park are closed
Mic Mac Mall
Halifax Shopping Centre
Halifax Stanfield
If you were hoping to catch a flight, it looks like a long wait. The arrivals and departures board at the airport is covered in red. For updates you can check their web site.
Halifax Transit ending service early
All Halifax Transit service, including Access-A-Bus and ferries, will end for the remainder of the day at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 4. Any buses in service prior to 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 4 will complete their routes. Halifax Transit will be actively monitoring the situation and will resume services as soon as it is safe to do so.
For the most up-to-date information on service disruptions, residents can visit halifax.ca/transit
Parks & Recreation
Many municipal recreation facilities will be closed for the day on Friday, Feb. 4, reopening on Saturday, Feb. 5. Residents should call their local recreation centre for further information.
Due to safety concerns, residents are advised to exercise caution if visiting municipal parks until the storm has passed and potential damage, including downed trees, has been addressed. The Halifax Public Gardens will remain closed until Saturday, Feb. 5, at which time reopening will be reassessed.
Solid Waste
Municipal curbside collection of garbage, organics, and recyclables has been cancelled for Friday, Feb. 4.
For the Middle Musquodoboit, Sheet Harbour and Malay Falls areas, solid waste collection will be rescheduled to Monday, Feb. 7. For all other areas, solid waste collection will be rescheduled to Saturday, Feb. 12. Garbage, organics, and recyclables that were scheduled to be collected on Friday, Feb. 4 will be collected on the noted rescheduled date.
The Otter Lake Waste Management Facility, Municipal Recycling Plant, Dartmouth and Ragged Lake Composting Facilities, and Middle Musquodoboit and Sheet Harbour Refuse Depots will be closed on Friday, Feb. 4.
