HALIFAX -- Schools were closed in parts of the Maritimes on Monday and police were urging people to stay off the roads as the cleanup continued from a series of winter storms that dumped massive amounts of snow on the region.
A Charlottetown man, 67, died after being struck by a vehicle Monday morning after he left his car and was trying to have it towed out of a snowbank on the Trans-Canada Highway, the RCMP said.
Staff Sgt. Ken Spencely said blowing snow created whiteout conditions when a pickup truck struck the man's SUV from behind as it was being towed. A third vehicle hit the rear of the pickup truck, but Spencely said it was unclear which vehicle hit the man.
When wind speeds increase, they can rapidly create visibility problems on highways surrounded by fields with high snowbanks, he said.
"It's creating a very dangerous winter," said Spencely.
In Nova Scotia, one of the province's busiest highways had to be shut down for several hours after a seven-vehicle pileup Monday just before noon. The collisions occurred on Highway 102 near Stewiacke and crews cleared the snow and salted the highway after the vehicles were removed.
All schools in the Halifax Regional School Board were shut down to allow for snow clearing on school grounds, giving students an extra day off after last week's spring break. The board said it needed another day to improve conditions at the schools following the latest storm on the weekend.
The school board said all schools would reopen Tuesday with the exception of Colonel John Stuart Elementary, where workers were still taking snow off the roof.
Classes were also cancelled for all schools in the English Language School Board in P.E.I., along with some schools in northern New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
Environment Canada issued blowing snow warnings in western and southern Newfoundland, while there were wind warnings for eastern Labrador.
Forecasters said the region could be getting a break from the succession of heavy snowfalls that have hammered the Maritime provinces this winter.
Environment Canada meteorologist Jean-Marc Couturier said temperatures were expected to rise above the freezing mark by the end of this week.
"It will still be a couple of degrees shy of normal but it will be a welcome break based on what we've been experiencing for the past few weeks," Couturier said Sunday.
The Confederation Bridge between P.E.I. and New Brunswick shut down due to the weather but reopened Monday. Flights at the Charlottetown International Airport also experienced delays and cancellations.
