NL Snowmageddon One Year Later
It was truly a storm like no other.
Schools were closed for days. Roads were impassable, people were stranded for days either at home or at work. Thousands lost power. Eastern Newfoundland was at a standstill when an area of low pressure gathered steam and slammed the eastern portion of Newfoundland with snowfall of biblical proportions.
It all started on January 17, 2020...
The storm dumped over 90 centimetres of snow in some parts of the St. John's area, and there was already a lot of snow on the ground. The snow was combined with strong winds including a peak wind gust of 134 km/h, this combination created snowdrifts up to 5 metres in some places and zero visibility.
States of emergency were declared for places such as St. John's, Mount Pearl, Paradise, and Portugal Cove – St. Philip’s.
Almost everything closed.
On January 18, Premier Dwight Ball announced that a request was made to the Government of Canada for assistance, including mobilizing the Canadian Armed Forces, to provide relief to areas of Newfoundland & Labrador affected by severe winter weather.
When Newfoundland calls in the Military to help clean up snow you know it's bad (sorry Toronto). The military was deployed for a little less than two weeks. Reservists and soldiers accomplished 900 tasks for people in and around St. John’s.
Back when air travel was still permitted under normal circumstances, St. John's International Airport closed for days. All flights at St John's International Airport and Gander International Airport were cancelled. Most flights were cancelled at Deer Lake Regional Airport.
Marine Atlantic was also forced to cancel some crossings. The MV Legionnaire was taken out of service due to poor weather conditions.
The storm made headlines around the world.
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