Passing system brings heavy snow, rain to the Maritimes; bitter November chill follows

A man is silhouetted as he crosses a pedestrian bridge. (Source: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

The low-pressure system that moved from the northeastern U.S. past the southwest of Nova Scotia brought in both some high snow and rain totals.

The most snow fell in western areas of New Brunswick. Amounts of 14-to-22 cm were reported in the Fredericton area. It should be noted that this was a wet snow that turned to rain Wednesday night. That can make it difficult to measure and lead to varied reports even within a relatively small area. Parts of northern and eastern New Brunswick also reported some snow amounts between 7-and-15 cm.

Rain in the region was accompanied by downpours for Atlantic coastal mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. Several communities reported amounts of 70 to near 90 mm of rain. As of Thursday noon, rain continues to fall for parts of Cape Breton. That rain is not expected to clear completely until later Thursday evening. By that time additional rain amounts of 10-to-40 mm may fall for some communities on the island. Rain totals of 50, 60, and even 70 mm are generally manageable. When we start to hit amounts of 70, 80, or 90-plus mm, more instances of localized ponding water and flooding tend to get reported.

Following the passage of the low-pressure system, some unseasonably colder air is ushered back into the Maritimes by a northwesterly wind.

While chilly for Friday, it becomes quite cold Friday night and Saturday. Low temperatures several degrees below freezing are expected region wide Friday night, some in New Brunswick as cold as -10 to -13. Daytime high temperatures in the Maritimes will range from -2 to -7 for most.

Aside from providing an extra bite to the air, the colder weather may trigger more snow squalls off the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait. The period of highest risk of snow squalls is Friday night through Saturday morning and most likely for eastern P.E.I., the North Shore of mainland Nova Scotia, and Inverness County, Cape Breton.

Saturday night will also be cold with temperatures moderating a bit on Sunday. The next mix of snow and rain for the region forecast for Monday.