Winter storm warning issued in eastern Newfoundland; Maritimes to dodge storm

Chief meteorologist Kalin Mitchell shares the Maritime weather forecast for Feb. 20.

A developing storm moving north of the Carolinas is expected to hold far enough east of Nova Scotia to minimize weather impacts to the Maritimes. The storm does look like it will clip the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland with some heavier snow and gusty winds.

Winter storm warning southern Avalon

Environment Canada has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the southeastern areas of the Avalon Peninsula. Weather conditions are forecasted to deteriorate Friday morning through Friday evening. Snow totals will approach a range of 15-to-20 cm with northerly wind gusts of 80-to-100 km/h.

The remainder of the peninsula is under a Special Weather Statement. Communities under the statement are expecting snow amounts near 10 cm and peak wind gusts of 60-to-80 km/h on Friday. The weather agency cautions similar storms in the past have created hazardous driving conditions, cancellations of activities, and disruptions to travel services.

Miss for the Maritimes

For the Maritimes, the storm is mostly a miss. Parts of Yarmouth, Shelburne, and Queens counties in Nova Scotia will see some lighter snow develop between 9 p.m. and midnight. The light snow will end Friday morning with snow totals of two-to-eight cm possible.

The rest of Nova Scotia will have a chance of flurries Thursday night and Friday morning. There will be a low chance of flurries along the Bay of Fundy coastline in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Thursday night and Friday morning.

The wind will increase to become gusty on Friday. Out of the north it will be sustained 20-to-40 km/h with peak gusts of 40-to-60 km/h. The most widespread gusts will near 60 km/h for Prince Edward Island and eastern Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton.

Weekend outlook

A ridge of high pressure building in from the west will give a fair weather start to the weekend for the Maritimes.

There will be a mix of sun and cloud on Saturday with a northwest wind sustained 10-to-20 km/h with gusts of 20-to-40 km/h. Daytime high temperatures will range -2 C to -6 C.

A trough of low pressure will move in Sunday. This is relatively weak weather system but it is expected to generate some light snow and flurries in the Maritimes. Snow amounts are likely to be limited to the range of one-to-five centimetres.