Travel and school delays in P.E.I. amid winter storm

Islanders are waking up to delays and restrictions on the Island amid a winter storm that began Sunday evening and continued into Monday morning.

Opening delays

The Souris, Morell and Montague Families of Schools, as well as École La-Belle-Cloche, will remain closed today. All other PSB and CSLF schools will operate following a one hour delay.

Island Montessori Academy in Charlottetown and Stratford will open at 9 a.m.

UPEI's campus in Charlottetown will open at 12 p.m., while its campus in St. Peter's Bay will remain closed for the day.

The Georgetown Centre and Scotchfort Centre at Holland College will remain closed for the day.

Collège de l'Île has cancelled all courses until noon at its Charlottetown and Wellington campuses, as well as courses given at Carrefour de l'Isle-Saint-Jean. A further announcement will be made at 10 a.m.

All provincial civil service offices in the Murray River, Murray Harbour, Montague and Georgetown areas will open at 10:30 a.m. All other provincial civil service offices in the Kings County area are on a delayed opening until 12:30 p.m. today, with a further announcement by 11:30 a.m.

The Service Canada Centre in Montague will open at 10:30 a.m. The Service Canada Centre in Souris is delaying opening until 12:30 p.m., with a further announcement expected at 11 a.m.

IWMC has cancelled cart collections for Highway 313, Morell, Melbourne, Lorne Valley and surrounding areas due to road conditions.

Travel delays, restrictions

The Charlottetown airport's first flight of the day with service to Toronto is delayed.

For user safety, the Confederation Bridge has restricted certain classes of vehicles from crossing until the current high wind situation changes. The restrictions have been in effect since last night, and officials estimate could be in place until around 2 p.m. Monday.

This comes amid weather alerts from Environment Canada, including a winter storm warning in effect for Kings County. The special weather statement for Queens County is no longer in effect.

In Kings County, "periods of snow and strong winds will continue to give areas of blowing snow today," said Environment Canada.

"Visibility will be suddenly reduced to zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow."

The conditions are expected to continue throughout the day, easing in the late afternoon or evening, Environment Canada said.