Key takeaways:
- Parts of TCH are still shut in western Newfoundland.
- The TCH close to George’s Lake in Newfoundland west was washed out following severe rain.
Newfoundland undergoes severe snow and hefty rains:
Powerful winds, rain, flooding, and significant snowfalls have smashed climate records and left some roads vandalized or shut near Newfoundland and Labrador on Saturday.
“It’s been a roller coaster ride for sure,” stated Rodney Barney, a meteorologist at Environment Canada’s Weather Office in Gander. Source – cbc.ca
“We kept a bit of everything.” Source – cbc.ca
Barney stated there were record high temperatures in several locations Friday, including St. John’s, which bested the last record for that date by two degrees. The high temperatures were associated with sustained high winds, gusting as high as 135 km/h on the northwest part of the Avalon Peninsula.
“What was great is that the winds were gusting over 90 kilometers an hour for 12-plus hours, so it was a long duration wind event,” Barney stated. Source – cbc.ca
Read more: Canadian Blood Services is asking for more donors in NL.
Barney stated there was “no lack of rainfall on the island’s west coast.” Source – cbc.ca
He stated 126 millimeters of rain dropped in the Gallants place and 107 in Stephenville. A large amount of rain led to flooding and washouts throughout the location.
According to the region’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Twitter account, the Trans-Canada Highway stays shut about six kilometers west of Route 490, also known as the Stephenville Access Road. The department declared traffic could reach the Stephenville location via Routes 490 and 461.
Route 403 at Flat Bay is also shut due to a washout, and Route 461 at St. George’s is closed to all left-turning traffic from the TCH. The TCH in the zone of George’s Lake had been shut due to a washout on Friday but has reopened to one route of traffic while restorations persist.
Following hefty snowfall, streets are also closed in parts of the Northern Peninsula and Labrador.
