The effects of a nor’easter — a powerful, large-scale storm — are already being felt in Nova Scotia. But the storm will affect all of Atlantic Canada in the coming hours.
The nor’easter is the same one that brought the southern United States as well as many parts of the northeastern U.S. to a standstill on Wednesday and Thursday.
In Quebec, Environment Canada has already issued winter storm warnings for the southern part of the province. Montreal is under a snowfall warning.
The entire province of New Brunswick is under a winter storm warning, expecting snowfall amounts of 25 to 35 cm overnight in the northern part of the province. In the south, the snow may change to freezing rain and ice pellets. Wind gusts of up to 90 km/h are also expected throughout the province.
READ MORE: Another snowstorm brings U.S. northeast to a standstill
In Nova Scotia, the warnings are for wind and rainfall. Though the precipitation will start off as snow, it will change to rain. The northern parts of the province can expect around 35 mm of rain, with higher amounts — as much as 65 mm — for the south.
There are some concerns of flooding in some parts of the province, such as Halifax which still has 23 cm of snow on the ground. Though the temperature is expected to reach a high of abut 6 C due to the warm front, the temperatures will soon drop.
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And then there’s the wind.
Strong winds — called Les Suetes, Acadian for “southeast” — are expected overnight into Friday morning in Cape Breton. These winds occur when the winds from the southeast become strong over the open plateau, but then gain speed as they head down the western coast of Cape Breton, often reaching speeds of 130 km/h or more. Closer to the Atlantic, winds will gust around 100 km/h.
But Cape Breton will have the snow on top of the wind, too.
“Over the Cape Breton Highlands, we’re looking at significant snowfall, up to 20 cm of snow before it changes over to rain,” said Paula Sutherland, Meteorologist with Environment Canada’s Atlantic Storm Prediction Centre.
In Prince Edward Island, rainfall warnings and wind warnings are also in place. The western part of the province will receive about 20 cm of snow before changing over to rain.
The reason it’s snow in some parts and rain in others has to do with where the centre of the low pressure system tracks. Low pressure systems are responsible for unsettled weather. The rain is falling to the south of the low, over Nova Scotia.
“For Newfoundland the storm will start out as snow and over a large portion of the area, especially central areas and southern areas, the snow will eventually change to rain,” said Sutherland. But the northern peninsula will receive snow, with accumulations of about 15 cm. The winds will also gust up to 120 km/h.
“So the storm is affecting the whole of the Atlantic region,” Sutherland said.
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