Residents across the Maritimes are bundling up for another blast of winter -- one that is forecasted to hit every city, town and county in the region before 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Running the gamut of snow, rain, freezing rain and ice pellets, the weather is expected to be at its worst during the morning commute and warm up to rain by the end of the day. While freezing rain is predicted for the entire region, those further south -- where the weather system is expected to arrive first -- are expected to see much less than residents in the region's north.
According to Environment Canada, northern New Brunswick could be the worst hit, seeing up to 15 centimetres of snow as well as ice pellets.
The province's highway fleet is ready for the onslaught, said a representative of the New Brunswick Department of Transportation.
"We have our manpower, our material and our machines ready to go at any moments notice," Ross Fisher told CTV Atlantic, noting while he's ready with the manpower, the province's supply of road salt is running low. "We have enough salt to get by on our main highways."
Fisher said the secondary roads would be sprinkled with a mixture of salt and sand.
In the Halifax region, the storm is expected to push the snow removal budget further into the red.
"Now we're into the reserve funds and if it continues like this we may even spend more than that," John O'Brien of the Halifax Regional Municipality told CTV. "It's been not a good winter, weather-wise and money-wise."
This isn't the first freezing rain storm to hit the Maritimes this season. In early February, thousands of Prince Edward Island residents were without power after a major ice storm. It took utility crews days to restore power.
Today, power crews in all three provinces are making sure they're good and ready for whatever comes their way.
The area's electricity providers say they are watching the forecast but doesn't think the system will be impacted by the storm.
After Tuesday's melt, roads in the area are already slick with water that could turn to sheer ice when the temperature drops at night, leaving some drivers struggling just to get their cars out of the driveway.
The region's school boards have cancelled classes for bad weather numerous times this winter, and may do so again Wednesday morning.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl
