Marine Atlantic is hoping to return to normal operations today after tumultuous weather in Nova Scotia forced the cancellation of some crossings.

Parts of that province saw record snowfall over the last few days, with as much as 100 cm falling in some areas, resulting in states of emergency being called.

Communications Director Darrell Mercer says the ferry did depart from North Sydney last night with commercial passengers as the result of a “last minute decision,” and they’re hopeful normal operations will resume today.

Mercer says there has been a big change in weather patterns over the last few decades that are impacting the organization’s operations.

The last few months, he explains, have been particularly bad.

He says in 2021 and 2022 they had bad months where there were clusters of bad weather and cancellations, but this season every week since the beginning of December has seen significant weather playing havoc with their schedules.