With global warming affecting the planet, we’re seeing more and more extreme weather all over the world. We’ve written extensively about the bushfires (and now floods) ravaging Australia. But it’s not the only place to see unprecedented weather. A massive blizzard hit Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, covering the area in huge amounts of snow.
Canadians wanted to show the world just what the worst blizzard in half a century looks like, so they posted a whole bunch of pictures online. From snow completely covering home entrances to roaring gusts of wind, the views from the city of St. John’s and other Canadian cities now look like from some distant icy planet.
Scroll down for some jaw-dropping shots from blizzard-covered Canada and upvote your faves. Don’t forget to send our friendly Canadian buddies some warmth and love!
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How To Make A Snowman From At Home
Buried
Not Laughing Anymore. The Snow Is Piled Up So Hard Against My Door The Doorbell Actually Just Rang. Okay, I'm Laughing A Little At That
*ding dong* Excuse me, do you have some time to talk about our Lord and Savior Snow Miser?
The snowstorm hit Newfoundland on Friday and many Canadians found themselves trapped in their homes due to the snow blocking the entrances to their homes. What’s more, this is far from the end: meteorologists are promising even more snow in the near future.
But the authorities of St. John’s were prepared for such a challenge. The mayor of the city, Danny Breen, declared a state of emergency on Friday, demanding that all businesses close and that all transport vehicles refrain from driving on the roads. With the exception of emergency vehicles, of course.
Bored Panda spoke to Beth Saunders, a local from St. John's, about the situation there. "We knew for about a week that a weather system was coming but we didn't quite understand how intense it would be. As the days got closer the snowfall and wind speed estimates kept increasing. As of Tuesday they were calling for 40 to 60cm, but as of Thursday evening these amounts were increased to 90+ cm of snow and 150+ km/hr winds."
Newfoundlanders Have The Best Sense Of Humour!
Ice Build Up On House In Cape Bonavista
What A Cool Driveway In Newfoundland
"The weather people were very on top of this storm and kept everyone in the know. The stores were blocked on Thursday with everyone trying to stock up on food and supplies before the weather hit. The city even called a State of Emergency for Friday on Thursday before anything happened because they knew how bad it would be. We've experienced bad storms before with much lower snowfall amounts," she said.
Beth said that it's stopped snowing currently, but the city is still paralyzed from all the snow. "It's now Monday morning and we're on day 4 of the State of Emergency. This means businesses must remain closed and vehicles have to stay off the road or there's a risk of several thousand dollars in fines. The snow has stopped but we need time to figure out where to put it all. A lot of cars are completely covered with snow which is taking hours upon hours to shovel out. "
"Since we're in a State of Emergency, businesses are forced to close today. All local schools have been cancelled and no one is allowed to return to work (unless you're an essential service like a plow operator or medical professional that has to be at the hospital). Some businesses have staff working remotely from home when possible, but otherwise things are not operating."
Nl Blizzard
Should I Go Over Or Not?
He's been wanting to see over that fence for years I bet.
Surviving Nl Blizzard With A Sense Of Humour!
According to Beth, the locals are trying to make the best of a bad situation. "People have been trying to make the best of this situation as much as possible! As you may have seen online, some people are snowboarding and snowshoeing down major downtown streets, having bonfires in their yards with neighbors, making igloos with makeshift refrigerators for their beer and so on!"
Well, That’s One Car
When Your Son, Who Just Got His License This Week, Doesn't Realize The Sunroof Is Open A Crack Before The Worst Snowstorm On Record
Got Their Car Out. Now Just To Run The Wipers And Get That Bit Of Snow Off The Windshield
According to Global News, 93 cm of snow fell in Mount Pearl, while Paradise got 91 cm. Meanwhile, 78 cm of snow fell in St. John’s International Airport—the highest in that area since 1942! So you can bet that no planes will be taking off or landing there for some time.
Despite the extreme weather, the residents of Newfoundland are coming together to tackle this crisis: neighbors are helping each other out, whether it’s digging through all the snow or helping others locate what they need, from gasoline to medicine.
On Sunday, the Armed Forces were deployed to help the residents out as well. Corporal Tiffany Mackey said that she feels glad to be helping the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her stepmother spent 50 hours at one of St. John’s hospitals during the snowstorm and had this to say: “We’re using our resources to help the people of Newfoundland and Labrador with this snow mess. The fact I can help out and give back is a really good feeling.”
Walls So High It’s Preventing A Lot Of Further Build Up. Nice!
Bit Of Snow Down On My Street
Nl Blizzard
Scooby Now Has A State-Of-The-Art "Doggy Snow Outhouse"
Welcome To Canada. This Is This Morning
What A Load Of Snow!! I'm Just Over 6ft Tall
All We Can Do Now Is Hibernate!
You Know The Snow Is Deep When You Can Have A Tunnel Going To Your Front Door
Well, I Found A Place To Keep My Dietcoke Cold! All Is Good!
I would have put beers there my self and maybe some Vodka or Tequila Blanco.
Current Status
What Is This Dad?
Dig Out The Door I Guess
Folks Don't Forget To Check Under Your Hood!
We Still Haven't Reached The Road
This Has Never Happened In The 10 Years We Have Lived Here
Holy F......still Not Over
From The Air You Can See The Trenches To Reach Buried Cars
A Friend’s House
I Think It Counts As Archeology At This Point
Pitts Memorial Drive Earlier Today Near The Ruth Avenue Interchange
Meanwhile In St. John’s. Sir Raymond, Blower Of Snow, First Of His Name Unlocks Legendary Status
6 Hour Picture Collage Of The Driveway. My Civic Is Slowly Disappearing Under The Drift That Keeps On Growing
Nl Blizzard
Breaking: This Avalanche Happened In Living Room Of A House In Outer Battery Of St. John’s Tonight. It’s In That Lovely Part Of The City That Flanks The Harbour, The One You See In The Tourism Ads
I Have Driven A Lot Of Miles In Nl Traffic In The Last 35+ Years, And Have Shovelled A Lot Of Snow In Nlwx, But Having To Shovel This Was A First. Thank You Blizzard2020 For A New Experience
Relaxing After Clearing The First 7-8 Ft
My Sisters House. Spot The Big Red Toyota Tundra In Her Driveway
Conquered. Walls Of Snow Nearly 7-8ft High Outside My Apartment
Damn. That almost looks like a scene from near the end of "The Shining".
Plow Got Half Way Up The Street And Then Gave Up In Despair. Oh Dear
Looking For The End Of This Crazy Ass Winter
Cars Are Slowly Emerging From Under The Snow. People In The Neighbourhood Stopping By To Help People Who Are Buried
When You Finally Finish Off The Ten Feet Of Snow That Filled Your Basement Door
Hope it doesn't collapse again and undo all that hard work!
When Your Doorway Is Blocked With Snow...use It Has A Beer Cooler. All Jokes Aside... Please Stay Safe And Warm In
I Have Uncovered A Step
Somewhere Under All This Is A Row Of Cars And Front Doors. This Is Going To Take A While
A Few Snapshot As Cleanup Really Kicked In Today
5 Hours Shovelling And The Car Is Still Not Cleared
What kind of shovel contraption is that in the photo leaning against the car?
Yeah
Found Our Rental Car. No Joke, Ours Is The One Closest To Lens, The Tiny Sliver Of Chrome...yep. Lots Of People In The Same Boat. State Of Emergency Continues
Just A Little Duster On The Rock
2 Cars. One Cleared. The Other Under The Snow
Trying To Make The Most Of It! We’ve Been Without Electricity/Heat For Hours Now
Well.... Rabbittown Is Starting To Recover
So This Is How It Ends...buried Alive Lol
There Are A Fleet Of Plows And Street Cleaners Out Here.
On Circular Road There Are Still Lots Of Cars Completely Buried. Even The Plows Couldn’t Make It Through The Streets
Here's What It Looks Like Right Now. Media Outlets, Use Away
Oh Crap
Me neither - Chesapeake VA. It was over 70 degrees here just a few days ago.
Load More Replies...same problem. we usually do not have much snow, but this winter we have no snow at all...in whole country
Load More Replies...As fun as this is, it’s a real danger for anyone who has a medical emergency
This is Canada, I am pretty sure that any people in dire need of a hospital will be moved using snowmobiles and maybe a sled. Even skis and a sled will do the trick.
Load More Replies...The blizzard must have affected the space/time continuum because I've seen some of these photos last year and before.
I understand this is an emergency situation and many people are without power/heat, but living next door in Nova Scotia I can't help but feel a bit left out, especially with all the fun wintery shenanigans going on :P https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/snowboards-and-street-parties-making-the-most-out-of-an-epic-storm-1.5432666
I would swop the heat in South Africa for your winter any day!!! I do believe that I was born in the wrong country. The heat of summers are getting to me. Never liked summers, never will. Even the winters in South Africa is warm. If I could only convince the husband to move to Alaska or Canada!!!
Let's trade! I'm a Canadian and yesterday where I live it was -26 (-37 with windchill). You can have some of what I've got.
Load More Replies...I can’t stop thinking about how scared everyone in Ireland got when we had the Beast From the East - which was about 3 inches of snow. People were hoarding bread and acting like the end of days was coming!
Is that why shooting stars used to have the vest from the west?
Load More Replies...Most of the pics are of a door facing the drifts or are basement doors. On the other side of the house, it would be clear. Those in basement apartments who have outward opening doors had to be shovelled out by others.
Load More Replies...This actually looks kind of cool. I hope they remembered to fill up the fridge and enjoy some family time.
There was some advanced warning so yeah, everyone stocked up. And there was time to get old timers extra medicine etc. When a community gets hit like that everyone bands together.
Load More Replies...The -48 degree weather (celcius) in Edmonton last week isn't looking so bad now.
That's with wind chill. Thankfully the actual temp has never gotten that cold there. At least it's a dry cold.
Load More Replies...Send all that snow to us in the summer.Signed Phoenix Arizona
One of my bestest friends lives in Canada, but I’m not sure if he’s having troubles in Canada with the snow
There have been people without heater/electricity.. so.. (I hope they had some form of alternative heating)
Load More Replies...I realise that a majority of these are drifts and only one side of the house is under 2m of snow (I hope), but it would still make me a tad claustrophobic. You must be super fit to shovel all that snow before it becomes rock hard- some of those tunnels are intimidating.
Most of us own snowblowers or contract plows. Those that shovel often got help from neighbours. This particular storm was powder snow so it was easy to shovel. We got another 20 cm last night. That was heavy, wetter snow and it took me longer to remove that than it took me to clean up from the 93 cm.
Load More Replies...Some of these photos illustrated a remarkable contrast between slight differences in elevation of 10-20 feet, not so bad vs. completely buried. I was puzzled by the immediate reaction of many to shovel off the car when there is literally no place for it to go anyway. Maybe just an activity to ward off cabin fever, I guess?
That snow compacts and gets heavier/denser the longer you wait which makes it much harder to clear away. Best to do it right away. One winter in Eastern Pennsylvania we had snow drifts over 5 feet which from the looks of it is about half of what a lot of these poor people got. That snow took us hours to dig out our cars. I just can't even imagine!
Load More Replies...I guess all the people who, after seeing Come From Away, thought they'd make a new life for themselves in Newfoundland might be having second thoughts. Winter is no joke there!
Once the storm is done, it's a winter wonderland. Can't wait to get out snowshoeing.
Load More Replies...Good luck to everyone dealing with blizzards!! My concern is food supplies and heat. Not enough of each means they could be facing a crisis. Hopefully everyone stocked up. The secondary concern is when all this snow melts...the flooding that will occur. Everyone stay safe!!
Melting snow will not create flooding. Snow melts gradually and thus continually seeps into the ground replenishing the groundwater.
Load More Replies...Oh, I'm jealous! But, how does this work with work? Just, no one goes I guess?
Several communities that were hardest hit, including the capital, St. John's, declared a state of emergency - all businesses and schools were ordered to close and all non-emergency vehicles are ordered to stay off the roads. This is still in effect today, 4 days later.
Load More Replies...I plan to move to Canada! Or America. They are practically the same! Even the accent, like Irish and Scottish!
It was rough, not gonna lie. I don't like feeling trapped AT ALL. Luckily I had someone to dig me out.
Load More Replies...That's one way to stop the papparazzi from annoying Harry and Meghan!!!
I had friends who talked about being 'snowed in' living in the Colorado mountains. Like no sunlight coming through the windows. It was a rare event, hopefully. Being an RN, you do worry about a medical emergency happening, and trying to get to hospital..
They had a plan for that. Plows were at the hospitals and led the way for any ambulance that had to be dispatched. There were a few emergencies. Most people fared ok, as far as I know just one fatality.
Load More Replies...For those of you who are metrically challenged, 93 centimeters is just over 36 inches (3 feet)
Our temp is in the single digits and teens with below zero wind factors and this is Jan, Feb, March along with the Nor Easters, Blizzards, Snow Squallsi, Ice Storms, Freezing Rain. We are called the Vacation Land and you can find it all here in Maine USA
Makes me feel I'm not alone now in New England, up North in the US. Thanks for the laugh, you made my day.
What I don't understand is why they waited until the storm was over to clean up. Where I live we get some pretty good snow storms and the occasional blizzard and you go out every couple of hours and remove snow, so this doesn't happen. The one with the window labeled with times, shows it didn't fall all at once, though at a fairly good rate, that could have been kept up with.
We had winds up to 180KM/hr. People were going out and it was buried right back in.
Load More Replies...Usually, Ohio has all the snow. Last week it felt like it was in the 60's
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I'm curious if water pipes burst? This is really scary to me; hopefully all these folks have enough food to last them until the snow is either removed or melts but once it melts, will the city be flooded?
It melts slowly. The majority of this snow will be around until April at least. It would have to warm up for it to melt!
Load More Replies...I just hope nobody has seen this guy wandering around up there: n_t-tM.gif
love your work about pets keep it up ....nice blog Gracias! Regards: Black Cat Breeds
I feel bad for the animals. I really hope no one's pets got left outside and the wildlife and doing okay
Best place in the world. Nowhere I'd rather live.
Load More Replies...They are in British Columbia. It's on the other side of the country. They are on the same side as California, we are on the same side as NYC.
Load More Replies...That would give me so much anxiety. First thoughts that come to mind are, what if your house gets completely covered? Can you actually run out of oxygen if that went on long enough? What do you do to stay warm if you lose power?
No storm here would completely cover a house. The drifts will cover one side or the other, not both.
Load More Replies...We're on the edge of the Arctic air mass that is sitting down here. It's keeping us just cold enough to keep this snow from changing to rain.
Load More Replies...I was having the same thought, but I believe that a lot of people have snowblowers. and don't forget that the snowdrifts are drifts, that is not how deep the snow is everywhere.
Load More Replies...This is because of “climate change” aka, global warming? Just shows how stupid all that is.
Why is the headline to this article so blatantly misleading stating it’s an unprecedented snowstorm when in the article itself it states that it’s the worst since 1942? It also mentions the Aussie fires which are also NOT unprecedented and are not the worst on record. Is boredpanda another publication on a mission to mislead the public?
The Australian fires are the worst on record. But thanks for adding your b******t.
Load More Replies...Global warming isn't just about have a 1 or 2 degrees hotter planet. It causes extreme weather events to happen. What we're are seeing now with snow and bush fires in Australia is only a taster of what weather will be doing in 50 or 100 years time.
Load More Replies...I live in a subartic climate and the number one reason for doing it, is that if you wait, the snow sets into a more ice like substans (think of those blocks igloos are built out of) Making it far harder and heavier to remove.
Load More Replies...Me neither - Chesapeake VA. It was over 70 degrees here just a few days ago.
Load More Replies...same problem. we usually do not have much snow, but this winter we have no snow at all...in whole country
Load More Replies...As fun as this is, it’s a real danger for anyone who has a medical emergency
This is Canada, I am pretty sure that any people in dire need of a hospital will be moved using snowmobiles and maybe a sled. Even skis and a sled will do the trick.
Load More Replies...The blizzard must have affected the space/time continuum because I've seen some of these photos last year and before.
I understand this is an emergency situation and many people are without power/heat, but living next door in Nova Scotia I can't help but feel a bit left out, especially with all the fun wintery shenanigans going on :P https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/snowboards-and-street-parties-making-the-most-out-of-an-epic-storm-1.5432666
I would swop the heat in South Africa for your winter any day!!! I do believe that I was born in the wrong country. The heat of summers are getting to me. Never liked summers, never will. Even the winters in South Africa is warm. If I could only convince the husband to move to Alaska or Canada!!!
Let's trade! I'm a Canadian and yesterday where I live it was -26 (-37 with windchill). You can have some of what I've got.
Load More Replies...I can’t stop thinking about how scared everyone in Ireland got when we had the Beast From the East - which was about 3 inches of snow. People were hoarding bread and acting like the end of days was coming!
Is that why shooting stars used to have the vest from the west?
Load More Replies...Most of the pics are of a door facing the drifts or are basement doors. On the other side of the house, it would be clear. Those in basement apartments who have outward opening doors had to be shovelled out by others.
Load More Replies...This actually looks kind of cool. I hope they remembered to fill up the fridge and enjoy some family time.
There was some advanced warning so yeah, everyone stocked up. And there was time to get old timers extra medicine etc. When a community gets hit like that everyone bands together.
Load More Replies...The -48 degree weather (celcius) in Edmonton last week isn't looking so bad now.
That's with wind chill. Thankfully the actual temp has never gotten that cold there. At least it's a dry cold.
Load More Replies...Send all that snow to us in the summer.Signed Phoenix Arizona
One of my bestest friends lives in Canada, but I’m not sure if he’s having troubles in Canada with the snow
There have been people without heater/electricity.. so.. (I hope they had some form of alternative heating)
Load More Replies...I realise that a majority of these are drifts and only one side of the house is under 2m of snow (I hope), but it would still make me a tad claustrophobic. You must be super fit to shovel all that snow before it becomes rock hard- some of those tunnels are intimidating.
Most of us own snowblowers or contract plows. Those that shovel often got help from neighbours. This particular storm was powder snow so it was easy to shovel. We got another 20 cm last night. That was heavy, wetter snow and it took me longer to remove that than it took me to clean up from the 93 cm.
Load More Replies...Some of these photos illustrated a remarkable contrast between slight differences in elevation of 10-20 feet, not so bad vs. completely buried. I was puzzled by the immediate reaction of many to shovel off the car when there is literally no place for it to go anyway. Maybe just an activity to ward off cabin fever, I guess?
That snow compacts and gets heavier/denser the longer you wait which makes it much harder to clear away. Best to do it right away. One winter in Eastern Pennsylvania we had snow drifts over 5 feet which from the looks of it is about half of what a lot of these poor people got. That snow took us hours to dig out our cars. I just can't even imagine!
Load More Replies...I guess all the people who, after seeing Come From Away, thought they'd make a new life for themselves in Newfoundland might be having second thoughts. Winter is no joke there!
Once the storm is done, it's a winter wonderland. Can't wait to get out snowshoeing.
Load More Replies...Good luck to everyone dealing with blizzards!! My concern is food supplies and heat. Not enough of each means they could be facing a crisis. Hopefully everyone stocked up. The secondary concern is when all this snow melts...the flooding that will occur. Everyone stay safe!!
Melting snow will not create flooding. Snow melts gradually and thus continually seeps into the ground replenishing the groundwater.
Load More Replies...Oh, I'm jealous! But, how does this work with work? Just, no one goes I guess?
Several communities that were hardest hit, including the capital, St. John's, declared a state of emergency - all businesses and schools were ordered to close and all non-emergency vehicles are ordered to stay off the roads. This is still in effect today, 4 days later.
Load More Replies...I plan to move to Canada! Or America. They are practically the same! Even the accent, like Irish and Scottish!
It was rough, not gonna lie. I don't like feeling trapped AT ALL. Luckily I had someone to dig me out.
Load More Replies...That's one way to stop the papparazzi from annoying Harry and Meghan!!!
I had friends who talked about being 'snowed in' living in the Colorado mountains. Like no sunlight coming through the windows. It was a rare event, hopefully. Being an RN, you do worry about a medical emergency happening, and trying to get to hospital..
They had a plan for that. Plows were at the hospitals and led the way for any ambulance that had to be dispatched. There were a few emergencies. Most people fared ok, as far as I know just one fatality.
Load More Replies...For those of you who are metrically challenged, 93 centimeters is just over 36 inches (3 feet)
Our temp is in the single digits and teens with below zero wind factors and this is Jan, Feb, March along with the Nor Easters, Blizzards, Snow Squallsi, Ice Storms, Freezing Rain. We are called the Vacation Land and you can find it all here in Maine USA
Makes me feel I'm not alone now in New England, up North in the US. Thanks for the laugh, you made my day.
What I don't understand is why they waited until the storm was over to clean up. Where I live we get some pretty good snow storms and the occasional blizzard and you go out every couple of hours and remove snow, so this doesn't happen. The one with the window labeled with times, shows it didn't fall all at once, though at a fairly good rate, that could have been kept up with.
We had winds up to 180KM/hr. People were going out and it was buried right back in.
Load More Replies...Usually, Ohio has all the snow. Last week it felt like it was in the 60's
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I'm curious if water pipes burst? This is really scary to me; hopefully all these folks have enough food to last them until the snow is either removed or melts but once it melts, will the city be flooded?
It melts slowly. The majority of this snow will be around until April at least. It would have to warm up for it to melt!
Load More Replies...I just hope nobody has seen this guy wandering around up there: n_t-tM.gif
love your work about pets keep it up ....nice blog Gracias! Regards: Black Cat Breeds
I feel bad for the animals. I really hope no one's pets got left outside and the wildlife and doing okay
Best place in the world. Nowhere I'd rather live.
Load More Replies...They are in British Columbia. It's on the other side of the country. They are on the same side as California, we are on the same side as NYC.
Load More Replies...That would give me so much anxiety. First thoughts that come to mind are, what if your house gets completely covered? Can you actually run out of oxygen if that went on long enough? What do you do to stay warm if you lose power?
No storm here would completely cover a house. The drifts will cover one side or the other, not both.
Load More Replies...We're on the edge of the Arctic air mass that is sitting down here. It's keeping us just cold enough to keep this snow from changing to rain.
Load More Replies...I was having the same thought, but I believe that a lot of people have snowblowers. and don't forget that the snowdrifts are drifts, that is not how deep the snow is everywhere.
Load More Replies...This is because of “climate change” aka, global warming? Just shows how stupid all that is.
Why is the headline to this article so blatantly misleading stating it’s an unprecedented snowstorm when in the article itself it states that it’s the worst since 1942? It also mentions the Aussie fires which are also NOT unprecedented and are not the worst on record. Is boredpanda another publication on a mission to mislead the public?
The Australian fires are the worst on record. But thanks for adding your b******t.
Load More Replies...Global warming isn't just about have a 1 or 2 degrees hotter planet. It causes extreme weather events to happen. What we're are seeing now with snow and bush fires in Australia is only a taster of what weather will be doing in 50 or 100 years time.
Load More Replies...I live in a subartic climate and the number one reason for doing it, is that if you wait, the snow sets into a more ice like substans (think of those blocks igloos are built out of) Making it far harder and heavier to remove.
Load More Replies...