PHOTOS: Labrador buried under historic 75 cm of snow, towns shut down
Tuesday's historic blizzard in Labrador shut down everything from roads and flights to provincial government offices and schools.
A record-setting blizzard shut down parts of Labrador, forcing the closures of roads, provincial government offices and flights Tuesday, as well as schools in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, North West River and the regional College of the North Atlantic campus.
The potent low had already slammed Ontario and Quebec with a blast of widespread, heavy snow last weekend, and also brought strong winds and heavy rains to Newfoundland through Tuesday.
What contributed to the significant snowfall totals in Labrador was a strong jet stream aloft providing added support in the atmosphere, which further strengthened the low. The low's already ample amount of moisture was boosted by an additional, plentiful source of it drawn up from the Atlantic Ocean.
Happy Valley-Goose Bay received 75 cm of snow since Monday, shattering its previous two-day November record of 70.6 cm. It also broke its one-day monthly record with 46.6 cm received on Tuesday, surpassing the previous daily total of 40.6 cm. It is the 5th time in the town's history, since records began in 1942, that a 70+ cm snowfall event has been recorded.
At one point during the storm, snow was falling at an unbelievable rate of 5-10 cm an hour. Powerful winds with gusts between 80-90 km/h also made for treacherous travel conditions and prompted Environment Canada to issue blizzard warnings, urging drivers to avoid any unnecessary travel.
"Blizzard warnings are issued when widespread reduced visibilities of 400 metres or less are expected for at least 4 hours," said EC in the warning.
Below are some of the visuals from the paralyzing and record-setting snowstorm:
Thumbnail image courtesy: Marina Andersen.
