FREDERICTON — Freezing rain left trees and power lines coated and roads slick Monday morning as Environment Canada issued weather warnings for large parts of the Atlantic region.
The weather agency put most of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton and the western half of Newfoundland under freezing rain warnings.
Most schools in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island remained closed for the day because of the weather.
Environment Canada meteorologist Jill Maepea said the storm originated in Colorado and moved eastward across Ontario and Quebec before heading to the Atlantic coast.
Although there were "several hours of freezing rain," the mercury began to climb, rendering the effects of the weather system minor in the Maritime provinces.
"The temperatures — they're just kind of hovering around zero. It's a little bit colder still up north," she said. "The worst of the freezing rain is over."
There were 48 customers without electricity in New Brunswick on Monday morning but power was restored by the afternoon.
A combination of wind and weight from ice is what usually affects power lines, Maepea said, and this time winds remained low.
In Ontario, the cities of Orillia and Peterborough and the cottage country district of Muskoka declared states of emergency as the ice storm damaged power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity.
The East Coast typically sees mixed precipitation events at this time of the year and could also see one or two large snowstorms in April, Maepea said.
While it was almost a "dry January," she said March has been more springlike. "It almost seems like March and April are switching," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2025.
The Canadian Press
