Weather system will bring snow, freezing rain to Maritimes Thursday

CTV Atlantic meteorologist Kalin Mitchell shares which parts of the Maritimes will see more rain on Tuesday and chilly temperatures to come.

More than April showers, it was a bit of deluge to get the month started in parts of the Maritimes.

Fair but cool weather will return Wednesday, with another system lined up to extend icy weather across Ontario, Quebec, and into the Maritimes Thursday.

Rain reports

The highest rain reports from the current weather system are coming in from up and down the Atlantic coastal area of Nova Scotia. Those rain amounts range from about 40 to 65 mm. That’s about a quarter to half the average amount of total precipitation for the month of April for that part of the Maritimes.

The rest of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island picked up totals of roughly 20 to 40 mm Sunday through Tuesday. That includes the initial snow, ice pellets, and freezing rain as well.

What is left of the heavy rain will clear eastern Nova Scotia by early Tuesday evening. The rain will bring an additional 5 to 15 mm as it clears.

Rainfall warnings remain in effect for eastern Nova Scotia but will continue to end moving through the afternoon.

Colder April night

A blustery northwest wind is developing behind the rain. The wind is drawing down chilly air from northern Quebec and into the Maritimes.

Low temperatures Tuesday night into Wednesday morning will fall a few to several degrees below zero. Some communities in northern New Brunswick will see lows of -8C to -12C. Those low temperatures are a good two-to-five degrees below average for early April.

A cold start to Wednesday leads into a chilly afternoon. Daytime highs of -3C to 3C for New Brunswick, 0C to 6C degrees for Nova Scotia – except -2C to 2C for eastern areas of the province including Cape Breton – and 1C to 2C for Prince Edward Island.

On the plus side, a ridge of high pressure building in from the west will give the region a mostly sunny day.

Icy mix returns Thursday

A low-pressure system moving into the U.S. Midwest will develop a mix of snow, ice pellets, and freezing rain on its northern edge. Large areas of Ontario and Quebec will be contending with that weather Wednesday into Thursday.

Special weather statements have been issued in those provinces. Impacts include up to near 10 cm of snow for some areas and a prolonged period of freezing rain.

Some areas expecting icy weather are the same areas that were impacted by severe freezing rain this past weekend. That includes the area of southern Ontario beginning near Peterborough and extending into the Ottawa Valley. Areas of southern Quebec and the St. Lawrence River Valley also had an extensive period of freezing rain.

The warm front associated with the storm moves into the Maritimes on Thursday.

Snow develops west-to-east across the Maritimes Thursday morning into the afternoon. Initial snow amounts of two-to-eight centimetres are expected before a turn through ice pellets and freezing rain to rain.

The mix of ice pellets and freezing rain could last for a period of two-to-five hours before temperatures come up enough to turn it to rain. The greatest risk for an extended period of freezing rain are in central and northern areas of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and parts of eastern Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton.

The greatest risk of freezing rain for western New Brunswick and western Nova Scotia is expected Thursday morning and afternoon.

The greatest risk of freezing rain for eastern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and eastern Nova Scotia is expected late Thursday afternoon and Thursday evening.