Brace for difficult travel as next storm brings heavy snow, winds to East Coast
A high-impact winter storm will continue its trek across Eastern Canada, intensifying as it hits the Atlantic provinces by Thursday. Heavy snow and damaging winds are likely
Snowfall warnings and special weather statements line Atlantic Canada, as the next system in a series of storms takes aim to end this week.
The Texas low, which will sweep across the Great Lakes and into southern Quebec late Wednesday, will continue its journey eastwards, pushing through the East Coast on Thursday.
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A mix of rain, ice and heavy snow will accompany the storm system, as well, with travel delays and cancellations possible as conditions start to deteriorate. As much as 30 cm of snow is forecast in some of the harder-hit areas of New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
Folks can also expect strong wind gusts, which could possibly exceed 100 km/h over some exposed, coastal areas.
As always, be sure to keep up-to-date on your local weather alerts, and always check the highway conditions before heading out.
Snow and ice threat spans the Maritimes Thursday
Snow will begin to spread across the Maritime provinces through the day on Thursday. With milder air surging north, expect the snow in Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and southern New Brunswick to transition to an icy mix of freezing rain and ice pellets through the afternoon and early evening.
Nova Scotia is forecast to also see a transition to rain showers Thursday evening and through the overnight, as temperatures climb into the mid-single digits through Thursday night.
These high temperatures will actually peak through the overnight and into the pre-dawn hours of Friday.
Across central and northern New Brunswick, the heavier snow is likely.
"Travel could become difficult. Motorists should be prepared for winter driving conditions," warns Environment and Clate Change Canada (ECCC) in a special weather statement for Moncton, N.B. Snowfall warnings have been issued for northern sections, as well.
Snowfall rates of 2 to 4 cm an hour may occur over some locations at times, which will have an impact on travel.
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In areas that see the icier conditions, localized power outages, tree damage and traffic delays are also possible.
Heavy snow wallops western Newfoundland
Snow will advance into Newfoundland Thursday evening, and continue to spread towards St. John’s and the Avalon through Friday morning.
The Avalon will also likely experience a transition to some freezing rain, ice pellets and wet mixing.
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In all, between 15-30 cm of snow is forecast for central and northern New Brunswick, with much lesser amounts of 2-5 cm forecast for much of Nova Scotia due to the. A large range in totals will span P.E.I., with anything from 5 to 20 cm falling there.
Between 10-15 cm of snow is forecast across the Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula, with 15-30 cm of snow forecast for central to western parts of the island.
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Strong winds could result in power outages Friday
In addition to the snow and ice, wind gusts will increase along coastal areas Thursday night, remaining strong through Friday, and peaking Friday night.
Widespread gusts of 50-70 km/h are forecast, with coastal regions gusting between 90-100+ km/h at times.
Strong winds ramping up behind the low could also contribute to some power outages.
February will be remembered as a stormy month with still more to come
Another significant and messy storm is expected during the weekend, as a low is forecast to rapidly intensify as it tracks through. The exact track and impacts are still uncertain, however, but widespread windy conditions are expected along with a period of snow changing to ice pellets and freezing rain, once again.
Very cold weather is expected to return as the storm heads out to sea, and an active pattern is likely to continue into late February.
Be sure to check back for the latest weather updates across Atlantic Canada.