Snowstorm to hit the Maritimes Tuesday, Wednesday

Kalin Mitchell shares the Maritime weather forecast for Dec. 1

A developing storm moving up the U.S. eastern seaboard will bring a combination of heavy snow, rain and high winds to the Maritimes late Tuesday through Wednesday afternoon.

Environment Canada has issued special weather statements in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Special weather statements along with snowfall and rainfall warnings are in effect in Nova Scotia.

Cold before the snow

In order to have heavy snow, some cold air is needed. That moves in Monday night for the Maritimes.

It will likely be the coldest night of the season so far for many in the region. Low temperatures near sunrise on Tuesday will be in the range of -12 to -17 for much of New Brunswick, -6 to -10 for Prince Edward Island, and -4 to -10 for Nova Scotia.

The early December snap of cold is a result of polar air filtering in out of Quebec. That air was moved into place by the polar vortex, which has become centred over Hudson Bay. Fresh shots of colder air into the Maritimes can also be expected Thursday night into Friday and Sunday night into Monday of next week.

Warnings issued

Environment Canada issued a Yellow Warning for Snowfall for the Annapolis Valley, Cumberland, Colchester, Pictou and Antigonish counties at 4 p.m. Monday.

Per the new colour-coded warning system, a yellow warning is issued when hazardous weather conditions are expected. This warning calls for a snowfall of 15 to 25 cm with locally higher amounts possible, late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon.

A Yellow Warning for Rainfall was also issued for Yarmouth and Shelburne counties. There, rain totals of 40 to 60 mm are expected Tuesday afternoon through late Wednesday morning.

Special weather statements continue for the remainder of Nova Scotia with the expectation that rain could total 30 to 50 mm along the Atlantic coast. Wind gusts of 70 to 90 km/h are possible from the northeast on Wednesday.

Special weather statements continue for Prince Edward Island and parts of southern New Brunswick. The statements caution there is the potential for snow totals of 10 to 15 cm Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon.

More on the snow and rain

It isn’t exactly uncommon for a wintry system to include both heavy snow and heavy for the Maritimes.

The snow-rain boundary with this storm looks like it will push into northern areas of Nova Scotia Tuesday night. By early Wednesday morning, colder air moving into the rain will turn it back to snow. The result is that the snowiest areas for Nova Scotia are likely to include the Annapolis Valley, Cumberland, Colchester, Pictou, Antigonish and the Cape Breton Highlands. Rain mixing in with the snow could contribute to widely varied accumulations even within small geographic areas.

The snow will make for more difficult and potentially hazardous travel on the roads in and into the Annapolis Valley, parts of northern Nova Scotia including the Cobequid Pass and Mount Thom area, and the Cape Breton Highlands.

Snow totals of 10 to 20 cm also look likely in southern areas of New Brunswick, from the Kennebacasis Valley through Moncton.

Snow totals of 10 to 20 cm are possible across much of Prince Edward Island. Those areas should expect winter road conditions to develop Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

The windiest conditions in the Maritimes are expected Wednesday morning through Wednesday mid-afternoon. Gusts from the north and northeast could peak between 50 and 80 km/h on the Bay of Fundy coastline of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and for Nova Scotia.