Rain, wind warnings issued for the Maritimes ahead of wet Friday

A pedestrian carrying an umbrella crosses a street in Halifax during a rainfall warning. (Source: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese)

The Maritimes is still set for a soggy and gusty close to the week.

Timing of the rain

A low-pressure system will sweep a series of weather fronts across the region Friday into Saturday. The fronts bring rain along with a risk of downpours and embedded thunderstorms. The system has had a history of producing thunderstorms and downpours as it has moved across the southern United States.

The first round of rain to arrive Thursday night into Friday morning will be light-to-moderate in intensity. A second band of rain arrives into western parts of the Maritimes Friday afternoon. That rain progresses eastward across the region Friday night into Saturday morning. Patchy drizzle and fog is expected in between the periods of rain.

A band of rain will bring a risk of downpours and embedded thunderstorms into the region Friday afternoon into Friday night.

Heavy rain a risk for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia

That second round of rain carries the higher risk of downpours with it. The risk of downpours is highest for southern New Brunswick and for Nova Scotia. While a general 10-to-40 mm rainfall is expected across much of the Maritimes, pockets of totals 40-to-80 mm are possible in southern New Brunswick and for the Atlantic coastal counties of mainland Nova Scotia into Cape Breton, with the exception of northern Inverness County.

The downpours and higher rainfall totals bring a risk of localized flooding. Higher rainfall rates can also reduce visibility and contribute to hydroplaning conditions on the roads. A Rainfall Warning has been issued by Environment Canada for the Atlantic coastline of mainland Nova Scotia.

Pockets of higher rain totals are possible for parts of Nova Scotia and near the Bay of Fundy coastline in New Brunswick.

Wind

A gusty southerly wind will accompany the rain. It increases through Friday to peak with gusts of 50-to-70 km/h Friday afternoon through night. Coastal Charlotte County in New Brunswick could experience peak gusts near 90 km/h and is under a Wind Warning.

Additionally, due to the topography of the Cape Breton Highlands, Margaree Harbour to Bay St. Lawrence in Inverness County will be susceptible to stronger gusts. Wind gusts through that area could reach 110 km/h on Friday. A wind warning has been issued for the area by Environment Canada beginning early Friday morning.

A gusty southerly wind accompanies the rain. Gusts could reach 90 km/h or higher for coastal, southwestern New Brunswick and northern Inverness County, Cape Breton.