While meteorologist Eddie Sheerr would describe the province’s latest winter storm as a “long-duration high impact winter storm with significant variance in snowfall totals,” most residents of the Avalon Peninsula are simply referring to this one as ‘a doozy’.

Nearly 50 centimetres of snow has fallen over the St. John’s metro area over the last two days, forcing businesses and area schools to close their doors on back-to-back days for the first time in recent memory.

Sheerr says some areas saw considerably higher levels of snowfall, thanks in part to a little bit of wind and some significant elevation changes across the Avalon.

“From Environment Canada’s storm summary, St. John’s International Airport measured at 48 centimetres, which is kind of on the lower side of things,” Sheerr told The Telegram.

“CBS was also at 42.5 centimetres. The high end was 74.3 centimetres in Paradise and 65 centimetres measured in Mount Pearl. In some of the higher elevations around St. John’s, like Blackhead Road, they experienced something like 63 centimetres.

“We’ve had a very snowy February. We’re already over 100 centimetres for the month, and we’re definitely over 300 centimetres for the winter. I think this will be the first above-normal snowfall winter we’ve had in a couple of years.”

The rapid accumulation of February snow has forced the city’s snow-clearing crews to work around the clock in rotating 12-hour shifts to keep the streets as safe as possible for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

While the city’s snow-clearing standard is to clear all streets of snow within 24 hours of any snowfall up to 25 cms, St. John’s deputy city manager of public works, Lynnann Winsor, said Thursday afternoon that the cleanup efforts for this storm are going to take a little longer than usual.

“For this one, we have a timeline of 4 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) that we’ll have all streets cleared,” Winsor said.

“I want to further clarify that this doesn’t mean streets are widened as well as we would like them to be. That means by 4 p.m. (Friday), we’ll be finished our plowing operations, and then we will shift gears and go into widening.

“We know that all areas of the city now need to be widened out, and that’s something that we will start working on as soon as we’re able to. We’ll be several weeks doing that.”

While there’s certainly no shortage of snow on the ground in St. John’s, Winsor says the municipality isn’t yet at the point where it is considering dumping snow in St. John’s Harbour, and says the city still has options available for snow storage.

ST. JOHN'S — The Newfoundland and Labrador government says it is owed more than $34 million in land reserve fees by several companies that had hoped to build wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia operations in the province.

ST. JOHN'S — The Newfoundland and Labrador government says it is owed more than $34 million in land reserve fees by several companies that had hoped to build wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia operations in the province.

And the province intends to collect the money, Energy Minister Lloyd Parrott said in St. John's on Thursday.

The government has been holding Crown land in reserve for six companies aiming to launch green hydrogen energy projects. In exchange, the companies were charged reserve fees worth 3.5 per cent of the land's market value, billed every three months.

Parrott said the government is not renewing those reserves for three companies: World Energy GH2, EverWind, and Toqlukuti’k Wind and Hydrogen Ltd., which is a partnership between ABO Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

"A combination of them not being able to move their projects forward and not paying their bills has resulted in this decision," Parrott told reporters, adding that he felt the renewable hydrogen energy industry was at a "stalling point."

"We're open for business when it comes to wind-hydrogen, and wind," he said. "But right now, we think it's more important to bring that land back into the Crown and utilize it in other areas."

A spokesperson for World Energy GH2 said in an email that the company was caught off guard by the decision, and that it was preparing a detailed response. The other two companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Newfoundland and Labrador announced in August 2023 that it was setting aside Crown land for companies behind wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia proposals. Since then, the province has sent invoices valued at $54.6 million in land reserve fees, said a news release Tuesday. As of Feb. 9, it had received $20.1 million.

The province has extended the Crown land reserve for the Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation, or EVREC, which has paid its fees, the release said. It also renewed the reserve for North Atlantic, which aims to deliver its first shipments of hydrogen to Europe in 2030.

Pattern Energy withdrew its plans last year for a wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia plant along the southwest coast of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. The company said it was instead looking at a wind-only development, possibly to deliver energy to Newfoundland and Labrador's electricity grid. Parrott would not say Thursday if Pattern was behind in its Crown land fees, adding that its land reserve isn't up for renewal until March.

"We are having active conversations with Pattern," he said.

A spokesperson for Pattern told The Canadian Press in June that its land fees were up to date. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

World Energy GH2 pitched its wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia project in partnership with CFFI Ventures, an investment firm run by seafood magnate John Risley. CFFI announced Tuesday that it had submitted a plan to Nova Scotia's Supreme Court to transfer its assets to a new owner, in an effort to arrange its debt and become financially sustainable.

Court documents show the company owes more than US$776 million.

Parrott said Thursday's announcement had nothing to do with that case.

"When we realized there was outstanding debt and no progress on some of these projects, it was a long, tough decision. This isn't personal," he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2026.

The Canadian Press

As people on northeast Avalon continue to dig out from yet another snow storm, one professional advises patience.

Graham Porter, with Alltask Excavating Inc., has been working since 5 a.m. NT, helping to clear out the Sobeys grocery store at Long Pond and was the Paradise location.

He said the snow is “real heavy” because of Wednesday’s rain, but he was in good spirits.

Porter advised people who might not share his passion to take their time.

“It’s all you can do," he said.

His granddaughter, Ava Porter, added, “complaining is OK. Just get done with it.”

Over 70 centimeters of snow was recorded in some areas of the St. John's region.

Lynnann Winsor, St. John's deputy city manager of public works, told reporters on Thursday all roads in the capital city should be cleared by 4 p.m. N.T. on Friday.

"We'll be finished our plowing operations and then we'll shift gears and go into widening. We know that all areas of the city now need to be widened out," Winsor said.

Crews are working around the clock in St. John's, Winsor added, and some of that snow will hauled to the waste facility at Robin Hood Bay.

"We have a section at Robin Hood Bay that is used for us to truck snow to, so we will put a lot of it there," Winsor said. "In areas where we can, we do blowback operations, which basically we can put the snow onto people's property."

Dylan Murphy said he woke up buried in his Paradise neighbourhood, and had been clearing the snow since 6 a.m.

“Too much, way too much," he said.

He said he's tiring, given the number of storms this winter.

The province's school board made the call at 6 a.m. NT to keep all schools in the metro St. John's region closed for the day, as well as a number of cancellations and delays in other parts of eastern and central Newfoundland.

Meanwhile, others took a break from the shovel to enjoy another day off of school.

Conor Andersen, 9, Alex Andersen, 16, and Lauren Young, 16, headed outdoors with Coco the dog in Paradise.

Conor Andersen said he likes to play in the snow and didn’t mind the heavy snowfall so far this year.

“I’m not so sure about shoveling though,” he said.

Alex Andersen said that's a pet peeve, but he does try to “bask” in how calm it is before he has to start clearing the snow.

“You get a nice, white scenery going on here,” he said.

The storm had a ripple effect throughout the St. John's area.

Metrobus and GoBus in St. John's delayed the start of their services.

Provincial government offices and all courts in the city reopened in the afternoon.

The walloping of snow led the RCMP to issue a warning to the public on Wednesday to avoid dumping snow on roadways.

The RCMP said snow dumping is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act and a public safety concern that can impact both traffic and emergency services.

“When snow is pushed into our roadways, it obstructs traffic increasing the risk of motor vehicle collisions and potentially causing delays for emergency response vehicles,” the RCMP said in a statement.

Winsor asked residents in St. John's to avoid doing the same.

"It impedes our operations, it slows us down and it's dangerous as well for pedestrians and for vehicles," she said.

Download our to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our . Click .

St. John’s City Council announced Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 that Derek Coffey has been appointed to the role of city manager.

The position became vacant with the retirement of Kevin Breen in January whose departure sparked controversy after taxpayers learned he left the job with upwards of $428,000 in salary and leave payouts.

A news release Thursday note that Coffey now will assume overall leadership for the city’s administration, oversee municipal operations, and support council in delivering programs and services to residents.

“With extensive municipal experience and a deep understanding of our organization, Derek has demonstrated strong leadership and sound financial stewardship,” Mayor Danny Breen said.

Coffey has more than 23 years of experience in municipal leadership and public service.

Since joining the city in 2003, Coffey has held several senior roles, including internal auditor, team lead for project velocity, manager of budget and treasury, and most recently deputy city manager, finance and corporate Services. His experience spans financial management, organizational improvement, and corporate leadership.

“It is an honour to serve as city manager for the City of St. John’s,” Coffey is quoted as saying in the release.

“I look forward to working with council and staff to continue delivering high-quality programs and services and supporting the priorities of our community.”