Saint John — New Brunswickers will be digging themselves out on Monday after almost a half metre of snow fell throughout the province over the weekend.
The storm, which began late Saturday in most areas, dumped an estimated 40 to 50 centimetres in some spots and had winds gusting up to 90 kilometres an hour.
About 25 centimetres of snow had fallen by late Sunday afternoon in the Moncton area, with the amount expected to double by the time the storm ends late Monday, said Environment Canada forecaster Bernard Duguay.
Flights were cancelled at the Moncton airport, and NB Power reported about 2,600 customers in the province, mostly in the Bouctouche to Shediac area, without power.
Bob Scott, NB Power's director of public affairs, said crews were having difficulty restoring outages on Sunday afternoon because of continuing heavy snowfall.
"It's making it difficult to keep the roads clear," he said.
Despite blowing snow and virtual whiteouts on some highways, no major accidents had been reported, said the RCMP.
Mr. Scott said the company planned to keep its repair crews working well into Sunday evening, and out again early Monday to try to restore power.
Several thousand Nova Scotia Power customers also lost electricity during the storm, said spokeswoman Margaret Murphy. Outages were scattered, with Sydney, Baddeck and Amherst suffering the most, she said.
"Crews have been pretty quick to restore power," Ms. Murphy said. "We didn't get hit as hard as New Brunswick."
Fredericton received close to 20 centimetres of snow as of Sunday afternoon, and was still expecting more. Saint John got 10 to 12 centimetres.
Northern New Brunswick was largely spared, with snow only beginning to fall on Sunday afternoon.
Snow and rain also fell in most parts of Nova Scotia on Sunday, but no major accidents had been reported.
Blizzard warnings were issued Sunday for central, western and eastern Newfoundland, with the Northern Peninsula and the Avalon expected to escape the brunt of the storm.
The storm is the same system that brought havoc to the northeastern United States over the weekend.
At least nine people died in the New England states as heavy snowfall and high winds caused poor visibility on highways and power outages for thousands of homes.
