Newfoundland hit with spring snowstorm

CTV News Channel: Newfoundland pounded with snow Eddie Sheerr from NTV News says parts of the province could see up to 35-40 centimetres of snow.

While Canadians in many parts of the country are enjoying spring weather, residents in Newfoundland are being hit with one of the worst storms of the winter.

Environment Canada issued storm warnings Wednesday, for parts of the east coast of Newfoundland, including Avalon Peninsula, Bay of Exploits, Bonavista Peninsula, Gander, St. John's and Terra Nova.

The weather agency forecasts strong northerly winds, and snowfall accumulations ranging from 25 to 35 cm in some inland regions, with lesser amounts along the coast. The northern Avalon Peninsula could see as much as 50 centimetres of snow.

NTV meteorologist Eddie Sheerr said winds are gusting up to 106 km/h at the St. John's airport, as the storm works its way westward.

"It's terrible here today," he said, as wind and snow blew past him. "We haven't really seen anything like this at all this winter. This is one of the worst storms we've seen yet."

Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for the province and is asking residents to avoid non-essential travel.

“Rapidly accumulating snow will make travel difficult,” the warning said. “Winter storm warnings are issued when multiple types of severe winter weather are expected to occur together.”

Temperatures in most of the province are expected to hover just under the freezing mark overnight.

Sheerr said the snow will continue falling through the night, but milder temperatures and rain showers forecast for later this week may help melt away the white stuff.

"Hopefully, this will be the last one. Because if I have to go back on TV and forecast more snow, I may have a lot of angry viewers on my hands," Sheerr said.

Meanwhile, Calgarians broke out their summer clothes on Tuesday, when the city beat a 106-year-old temperature record as thermometers measured a high of 27.1 C. The previous record for April 19 was set in 1910, when the mercury reached 26.7 C.

Across the city, residents took to parks to bask in the sun.

"I saw the weather today and I knew it was going to be a shorts day," Patrick told CTV Calgary. "When the boys said we should get some Frisbees, it was a no-brainer."

Local Calgary resident Andrea said she couldn't believe the heat considering it was still April.

"It's unheard of to be this warm this early," she said. "It's only April, so we're pretty excited about that."

But the Calgary Fire Department is warning of the dangers that come with the hot weather conditions. It says it has responded to 50 grass fires in the last four weeks.

Carol Henke, the Calgary Fire Department’s public information officer, said firefighters attend to a lot of careless fires during these dry conditions. But there are things people can do to prevent fires from starting, she said.

"Do not throw your cigarette butts out of your vehicle window onto the road, because the wind can take that as well," she said.

The warm weather may be having other unintended consequences, such as impacting the local travel industry.

The heat may be slowing travellers down from booking their next trip, travel agent Jas Dhillion said.

"People don't really want to get away yet, so they're kind of booking tickets for later on," he said.

With files from CTV Calgary and NTV