A risk of heavy rain for the Maritimes on Wednesday, not directly related to Hurricane Franklin

A pedestrian shields herself from the rain with an umbrella while walking downtown in Halifax on Monday, October 30, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese)

Rain, potentially heavy for some areas, is expected in the Maritimes on Wednesday.

That rain is not directly related to Hurricane Franklin. Franklin will still be located just over 1,000 kilometres to the south of Nova Scotia on Wednesday, the associated rain with the storm falling over the open ocean waters of the Atlantic.

The Wednesday rain in the Maritimes is a result of a weather front in the eastern U.S. meeting up with a second front arriving out of Quebec. There may be some water vapour drawn off of Franklin high in the atmosphere that could reach that weather front.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre noted that “some moisture from Franklin could feed into this system possibly resulting in enhanced rainfall in some areas” in a post to social media Monday.

What can be expected in the Maritimes?

Increasing cloudiness during the day on Tuesday will be followed by the arrival of some light to moderate rain on Tuesday night. Rain becomes steady on Wednesday, possibly heavy at times for some areas. The steady rain then clears western parts of the Maritimes on Wednesday evening and eastern parts of the Maritimes early Thursday morning.

Around 10 to 40 mm of rain looks likely for most of the Maritimes which is fairly “standard” rain by our standards.

There is a possibility of some totals that could reach or exceed 50 mm in 24 hours. Currently, it looks like Halifax across eastern mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton may be at higher risk of that heavier rain. Some weather models do have risk of heavier rain further west in the region.

It is recommended to check the forecast for your area Tuesday as a change in expected amounts for specific locations is possible.

Some gustier winds will accompany the rain on Wednesday but are not expected to be a big issue at this time. Initially from the southwest they will be sustained 20 to 30 km/h with gusts 30 to 60 km/h. The wind is then expected to become west and northwest Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Updates on the rain expected on CTV Atlantic News Five, Six, and Late.