Maritimers look back on ‘roller-coaster’ of winter weather

Maritimers are hoping Wednesday’s blast of snow may be one of the last the region sees, especially with the arrival of spring.

Claude Cote with Environment Canada says the Maritimes have seen a mix temperatures and weather.

“If there’s a highlight of this past winter, it’s probably the roller-coaster regime because there’s been several events where we’ve seen temperatures well above normal and then we’ve seen temperatures well above normal and then we’ve seen significant windchill events,” Cote told Global News.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If there's a highlight of this past winter, it's probably the roller-coaster regime because there's been several events where we've seen temperatures well above normal and then we've seen temperatures well above normal and then we've seen significant windchill events," Cote told Global News.

New Brunswick saw a major ice storm that left thousands without power for several days, while Cote said the nor’easters seen last month in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick resulted in more than 120 centimetres of snow being dumped in some areas.

Chris McConaghy with Hi-Tech Powersports said the up-and-down weather caused issue for business.

“Things picked up as soon as we got some snow on the ground,” McConaghy said. “Got a little discouraging for people with the warm temperatures and all the rain that we’ve been having as the snow didn’t seem to stay very long.

“But we’ve still overall had a decent season, but it’s been a lot more up and down, I would say than most years.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "But we've still overall had a decent season, but it's been a lot more up and down, I would say than most years."

Snow still to come

Parts of New Brunswick are forecast to see blowing snow Wednesday evening as a low pressure system over the Maritimes moves east.

Blowing snow advisories are in effect for the eastern part of New Brunswick with the wind forecast to gust up to 70 km/h, which will cause poor visibility in the evening, according to Environment Canada.

The agency says conditions will improve in the province overnight.

Parts of northern Nova Scotia and all of Cape Breton can also expect to see snow into Thursday morning as the low pressure system moves across, with blizzard warnings in effect, and 10 to 15 centimetres expected. Winds could also gust up to 90 km/h.

The agency advises travel conditions will be hazardous due to snow and blowing snow.

– With files from Paul Cormier, Global News