No shortage of winter weather

From wind storms to whiteouts

Yarmouth didn’t entirely escape unscathed from a winter storm that blew through the area on Jan. 4 and 5, but the damage left behind wasn’t as bad as had been anticipated.

With warnings of a weather bomb accompanied by forecasts of hurricane force winds up to a possibility of 140 km/h, the wind didn’t reach that high, although it was still strong. Environment Canada recorded gusts of up to 98 km/h on Jan. 4 and 82 km/h on Jan. 5.

Rain, not snow, had been a major concern. Environment Canada recorded 26.8 mm on Jan. 4.

There were reports of localized flooding in some areas that are generally prone to flooding during very high tides and storm surge was a problem in some areas.

There were also numerous power outages reported in the county.

Schools were closed both days of the storm – last Thursday due to The road heading towards the Yarmouth Bar on Jan. 4 saw some flooding during the storm. the impending weather and on Friday because of power outages and anticipated power outages.

One of several areas in the county to see damage was the Pubnico Point Trail, which had rocks washed up onto the walking trails and downed trees.

The Jan. 4 rain washed away the snow that had previously fallen in Yarmouth, but the area didn’t stay snow-free for long.

Even after the storm the weather continued to be the topic of discussion, and problems, as snow started falling again on Friday, Jan. 5, resulting in nearly two days of heavy flurries, snow squalls and whiteouts. Businesses closed early on Jan. 5 and some didn’t open at all on Saturday, Jan. 6, due to the treacherous driving conditions. Others closed early last Saturday so employees could go home. Some roads were tricky to drive on with flooding, ice and debris on Jan. 4.