Rain reports for the Maritimes following Wednesday night’s wet weather

CTV Atlantic meteorologist Kalin Mitchell shares rain reports from across the Maritimes and an update on Tropical Storm Melissa in the Caribbean.

A round of rain, thunderstorms, and showers brought much-needed rain to the Maritimes Wednesday. Fair but gradually cooling weather will follow for Friday and the weekend. Tropical Storm Melissa poses a threat to Jamaica.

Rain reports

Wednesday and Wednesday night brought the second rain event of the week to total a general 5-to-15 mm, with higher local amounts thanks to thunderstorms.

That means all three Maritime provinces had areas with rain totals of 10-to-50 mm this week.

The rain this week was sorely needed as drought conditions have persisted this fall in the Maritimes. The trend for the weekend and the start of next week is for a ridge of high pressure to build in from the west. That will limit rain and shower chances through that period for the Maritimes.

Clearing and cooling

After some spotty showers come to an end early Thursday evening, the remainder of the night is expected to be mostly clear.

That will make for some ideal night-sky viewing conditions. You won’t see much of the moon as it is only 4 per cent illuminated and below the horizon for the night hours. You may be able to spot a comet. Comet Lemmon is expected to be visible just above the western horizon following sunset Thursday evening. For best viewing of that comet you will want to use binoculars or a telescope. The planet Saturn will be visible above the southeastern horizon Thursday evening and if you are up late the planet Jupiter will be rising above the eastern horizon near midnight.

If heading out to do some stargazing Thursday it will be a bit cooler than previous nights. Low temperatures in the region will fall into the mid-to-high single digits.

Tropical Storm Melissa

Officials in the Caribbean are monitoring Tropical Storm Melissa carefully.

Currently located about 355 km to the southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, the storm is over warm ocean waters and in a favourable wind environment for rapid strengthening. Melissa is forecast to become a hurricane by Saturday morning, a major Category 3 hurricane by Sunday morning, and possibly a Category 4 hurricane by the start of next week.

Jamaica and western Haiti are under a hurricane watch. The track of the storm is expected to take it slowly west, just off the southern coastline of Jamaica, this weekend and early next week. The slow movement of the storm means that Jamaica, in particular, could contend with severe weather conditions for multiple days.

One of the more concerning weather hazards will be an inundating rainfall of 150-to-300 mm for parts of Jamaica, southern Haiti, and southern Dominican Republic. The torrential rain will bring a risk of flash flooding and mudslides.