The City of St. John’s is seeking permission from the federal government to dump excess snow in St. John’s Harbour as snow clearing efforts continue.
St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen told reporters at a news conference this afternoon that they are racing to clear snow before the next system starts later tonight, forecast to bring another 5 cm of snow and rain.
Blowback operations have mostly ceased, with many properties unable to take any more snow.
Breen is urging patience, as crews get streets cleared in priority sequence. He says using the harbour to dump snow will help.
“It’s necessary because it’s a shorter distance, so you can get more snow move quicker if you’re putting it into harbour,” says Breen.
“If you’re taking it to Robin Hood Bay, then it’s going to take more trucks to keep the blowers going, because you always want to have a stream of trucks taking it away, but they have longer distances to travel.”
Turning lane onto Kenmount Road from Ladysmith Drive, Feb 23, 2026 (VOCM News)
No State of Emergency
St. John’s declared a state of emergency only a few hours into Snowmageddon, but chose not to go that route this time around.
Councillor Greg Noseworthy says the situation now is not the same as it was when metro was bombarded with about 80 cm of snow in ferocious winds.
“There are a number of factors including we have a 24-hour parking ban, schools were already closed, we have more time, and the city had already done some widening and pushback,” says Noseworthy.
The latest onslaught delivered about 55 cm of the white stuff.
The ward 3 councilor says it’s important for people to have patience as cleanup and widening will take time.
(St. John’s International Airport)
Delays continue to mount at YYT as the capital city digs out from yet another winter wallop.
In a social media post earlier this morning, the authority said it needs more time to remove the snow, some 55 cm over the weekend.
