Drivers in Atlantic Canada are being advised to stay off the roads as high winds and blizzard conditions make travel difficult, and dangerous.

About nine days ago, there was green grass in Halifax. That was before three blizzards walloped the region in about a week.

The storm system that began on Sunday is hanging on, prompting blizzard warnings to remain in effect for parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and all of Newfoundland.

Ninety-kilometre-per-hour winds created whiteout conditions in many areas, including the Tantramar marsh near Sackville, New Brunswick.

As well, a storm surge warning was issued for parts of P.E.I. and areas of northwestern Nova Scotia.

A storm surge occurs when winds surrounding the storm push water towards the shore -- potentially causing flooding in coastal areas. This time of year, it's not just water, but ice jams that threaten to crash ashore Monday afternoon.

The last storm surge at the end of December caused considerable erosion and damage to P.E.I.'s famous dunes.

CTV's John Vennavally-Rao, reporting from Halifax, said high winds are making it difficult to see, and difficult to clean up from the mess left behind by the snowstorm.

"The problem really this morning, is the wind. We've got this light powdery snow -- the kind that just when the wind hits it whips it right up. And there are whiteout conditions right across the province," Vennavally-Rao told CTV's Canada AM.

Cape Breton was hit the hardest by the storm, which dumped about 70 cm of snow there. More than 65 cm fell on Greenwood, N.S., and Yarmouth, N.S. And downtown Halifax got 39 cm.

In Newfoundland, residents are expecting another 30 cm of snow on Monday, adding to 60 cm already on the ground.

Icy sidewalks in downtown St. John's are impassable and streets are flooded, prompting the closure of schools, banks, government buildings and many private businesses.

Meanwhile, the Mounties are trying to plow through a snow-clogged section of the Trans-Canada highway near Amherst, N.S., where truckers and motorists have been stranded by the massive storm.

While the snowstorm is making it difficult to get around, not everyone is unhappy. Children across Nova Scotia are crying "Snow Day!" as schools are closed. Many parents are also getting a three-day weekend as many businesses remain shut.

Most flights in and out of Halifax International Airport were postponed Monday. At the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax -- the region's largest hospital -- most surgeries and out-patient services have also been cancelled.

This is the third and strongest storm to hit the region in a week. A first storm hit on Monday, followed by a second on Thursday.

With a report from CTV's John Vennavally-Rao, and files from The Canadian Press