St. John's residents prepare for multi-day snowstorm to hit Newfoundland's east coast

A long-winded storm is expected to bring 30 to 50 centimetres of snow over several days to eastern and northeastern Newfoundland, including the northern Avalon Peninsula, according to Environment Canada.

Snow is expected to be heaviest on Wednesday, and will taper off by Friday morning.

This year will mark the third winter storm in a row to wallopthe St. John's metro area on Valentine's Day,says CBC meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler.

"Valentine's Day storms seem to be a thing," said Brauweiler in a Facebook post, adding there have been eight major storms in St. John's on Feb. 14 since 1982.

Brauweiler says snow will begin through the early hours of Wednesday morning, around 3to 4 a.m. Windwill ramp up in the morning, with winds gusting from 50 to 70 km/h.

The wind will be combined with a snowfall rateas high as two to four centimetres per hour, "so that's pretty heavy snowfall," said Brauweiler.

Blowing snow will cause reduced visibility throughout Wednesday. Thursday will bring some relief from high winds, but it will continue to snow throughout the day.

St. John's residents prepare

Standing outsidethe Sobeys on Torbay Road, grocery cart in tow, Catherine Warrsaid she and her husband are buying enough food to last at least a couple of days.

"We're pretty worried about the storm going a few days over, for sure," she said.

WATCH | Storm prep with a touch of love:

Storm prep includes some Valentines Day love

8 months ago

Duration 2:17

Essentials like storm chips are filling up grocery carts, of course, but flowers are too. Theres a lot of TLC in the air (before the snow and the wind join in). The CBCs Jessica Singer and video producer Danny Arsenault asked people what theyre out picking up before the wintry blast.

Warr said she and her husband anticipated anotherValentine's Day storm would occur this year, as has happened in the past. Sothey decided to postpone their celebrations until next week.

"It just kinda seems like a trend now, every Valentine's Day," she said.

Ken Smith also popped into Sobeyson Tuesday afternoon to grab storm chips and a bouquet of red roses for his wife. Lloyd Holwell, 85,stopped by a Shoppers Drug Mart to purchase chocolate for his girlfriend's daughters.

"Valentine's Day is very special to me, it's my favourite day of the year," he said. "I think women are the greatest thing in the world."

Leslie Bridger says she went out for a walk Tuesday morning to be "physically fit and prepared" for the storm. She says she's staying at her daughter's house during the storm, and the two went grocery shopping on Monday in preparation.

"As long as you're with people that you love," she said, "that's really all that matters."

Heavy snow

Instead of fluffy, light snow, it'll likely be on the heavy side, says Brauweiler good for making a snowman, but perhaps a little more challenging on the shovel.

Whether snow will turn to rain at any point depends on changes to the weather system, says Brauweiler. Environment Canada says on its website that, as is typical for all nor'easters, slight changes in the weather system can alter the forecast.

Environment Canada says similar storms in the past have caused poor driving conditions, school closures and disruptions to public services.

Winter storm warnings extend from the Avalon Peninsula through to Gander, Bonavista and down through to the Burin Peninsula, says Brauweiler. Winter storm watches are also in place for the Green Bay and White Bay areas, through to Grand Falls-Windsor, the Bay of Exploits and Connaigre.

A storm surge warning is also in place for Cape Spear to Deadman's Bay, according to Environment Canada, with high water levels and five- to seven-metre waves expected Wednesday night, which could affect vulnerable areas of coastline.

Download ourfree CBC News appto sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador.Click here to visit our landing page.