Tuesday, February 3rd - the aftermath of another snow day

Conditions at 1:30 pm: bright and sunny but very cold -16' with a -25' wind chill
Expected later: at least the snow has stopped for now but the temperatures are going to stay cold for a bit longer

I'm sitting at the kitchen table writing this and looking out at a winter wonderland. Bright blue skies, sunshine and lots of snow. Such was not the case a few short hours ago. When I got up at 6:00 the wind was howling and the snow was still coming down. Once daylight came you couldn't see the road from the front window and out the back you couldn't see the garage for blowing snow. It was pretty wicked for a while. Apparently winds were up to 110 km per hour and I believe it.

Needless to say the whole island is pretty much shut down. In fact when I got up this morning there was a notification on the radio station website that the plows had all been taken off the road until the winds died down. Everyone was urged to stay off the roads. So that's what we did - as if we could have gotten anywhere anyway.
 

There's a road under here somewhere!

The wind is still blowing but not so fiercely so visibility isn't a problem. Apparently they recorded 60 cms of snow has fallen in Charlottetown. The plows are finally out but only on the main roads and only to plow one lane wide.  I also heard there's a watermain break over on Queen Street near the Co-op grocery store and there's two feet of water/slush on the road. We have friends who live in that area so hopefully it's not impacting them. 

There was no way for Lloyd to get out last night and unless something happens soon, it's doubtful he'll be able to get out this afternoon. He was meant to work a double shift  today to make up for missing last night but that may or may not happen.  Our road isn't
usually high on the list and because there's so much snow to be moved, it's going to be a long time. Apparently the plows didn't get out till around 10:30 this morning so it's going to be a while. But we are among the lucky ones. Several areas have no power but we still have ours. But with a gas stove for cooking and the wood stove for heat, it's not a huge deal if we do lose it.

Looking at this beautiful blue sky it's hard to imagine just how stormy it was a short time ago.

This view of downtown Charlottetown speak volumes!