On Friday, 17 January 2020, a blizzard buried St. John's, Newfoundland, under 76.2 cm of snow in a single day, smashing the city's one-day record. Winds of up to 157 km/h piled the snow into drifts that sealed doors, swallowed cars and filled whole streets. Residents dug out with shovels, humour and a lot of creativity, and their photos of "Snowmageddon" travelled around the world.

Two doorways blocked by snow, one with a toy dinosaur head and one with a snowman face
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, January 2020.

The storm that buried St. John's

The storm struck eastern Newfoundland on 17 January. Environment Canada meteorologist Rob Carroll confirmed a new one-day snowfall record for St. John's of 76.2 cm, beating the old mark of 68.4 cm set on 5 April 1999. At St. John's International Airport the wind reached 120 to 157 km/h at the height of the storm, producing white-out conditions.

Environment and Climate Change Canada later ranked the storm fifth in its review of the country’s major weather events of 2020, noting 76 cm of snow in 18 hours.

Snowman face carved into the snow filling a doorway, St. John's – photo by Mk2995
A snowman face in a snow-filled doorway, St. John’s, during the January 2020 storm. Original image credit: Mk2995.

Mayor Danny Breen said he had never seen such a combination of snow amount, snowfall rate and wind speed. The snow in front of his own front step was over his head, and he could not see either of his cars. Premier Dwight Ball called the storm historic.

Doorway filled by a deep bank of snow with depth marks drawn on it – photo by BCbaydoll
A doorway filled by a deep bank of snow, St. John’s, during the January 2020 storm. Original image credit: BCbaydoll.

A state of emergency and help from the army

St. John's and several nearby communities declared states of emergency late on the morning of the storm. Businesses had to close and non-emergency vehicles were ordered off the roads. Newfoundland Power worked to restore electricity to about 21,000 customers. The city's state of emergency lasted eight days.

The province asked Ottawa for help, and soldiers and reservists of the Canadian Armed Forces were sent to the capital. They completed about 900 tasks in the St. John's area, most of them digging snowbound residents out of their homes. Federal minister Seamus O'Regan said the first priority was access to hospital for dialysis and chemotherapy patients.

Interior door opened onto a solid wall of packed snow
Toy dinosaur head pressed into the snow wall filling an open front door
Bungalow coated in wind-driven snow on every wall and window
Narrow path dug between snow walls taller than a person
Man standing on a snowbank above a buried car on a residential street

Why doors became walls of snow

Many of the most famous photos show a door opened onto a solid wall of white. That is the work of the wind. Blowing snow drifts against buildings, fences and parked cars and packs into dense banks far deeper than the snowfall measured on open ground. Resident Christina Smith described snow up to her neck in places. Another resident, Ashley Fitzpatrick, said people in basement apartments were the biggest worry, because drifts blocked their exits and some needed neighbours to dig them out.

Large black dog leaning on a fence at the level of the deep snow
Snow-covered wicker chairs and a table with candlesticks set up in a snow pit
Shovel standing in a deep trench cut into a snowbank
Person digging snow out of a car's front seats
Car half encased in a sculpted snowdrift beside townhouses
View from inside a dark snow tunnel toward daylight
Person on top of a high snowbank beside a half-buried stop sign
Rooftops of houses barely showing above deep snow

Snowmen, tunnels and patio furniture

As the city dug out, the jokes began. People carved snowman faces into the snow filling their doorways, cut a dog-sized door for the family pet and pushed soda bottles into a snow wall to keep them cold. Others dug tunnels to reach the street, set up a snowbound "patio" with chairs and candlesticks, and stood on drifts higher than their cars. One photo shows a bathtub filled with snow.

Small fluffy dog sitting in a dog-sized opening cut into the snow behind a patio door
Interior door with snow pushed through the gap around the handle
Man raising his arms inside a snow trench deeper than he is tall
Dining room whose sliding glass door is blocked by snow
Snow tunnel dug through a drift toward a street
Soda bottles pushed into the snow wall filling a doorway
Street of cars buried in snow between rows of houses in St. John's

Behind the humour was hard work. The provincial government asked people to check on neighbours, especially seniors and people with disabilities, and municipalities spent days widening roads and clearing sidewalks after the emergency ended.

Dog sitting in a doorway packed with snow
Man beside a snow-filled doorway and a bathtub full of snow
Car with its open hood packed with snow
Child with a shovel next to a wall built from blocks of snow
Man in pyjamas gesturing at a doorway filled with snow
Cars almost completely buried in snow on a street at dusk

Travelling in a Newfoundland winter

Big storms are part of winter on the island, so build some slack into any trip between December and March. Check Environment Canada’s weather information before you drive, keep extra time around flights and ferry crossings, and choose accommodation where you would be comfortable spending a snow day indoors. For another winter scene, see the light halos photographed above Arosa.

Sources