Snow squalls a risk for eastern P.E.I. and eastern N.S. Monday night

A snow squall watch has been issued by Environment Canada for Kings County P.E.I., the North Shore of mainland N.S., Guysborough County, N.S., and Inverness County, Cape Breton.

The watch cautions that snow squalls may develop Monday night into Tuesday morning. While highly localized, heavier snow squalls are capable of producing snow amounts of 10-to-20 cm.

The trigger for the snow squalls is a cold northwest wind blowing across the Maritimes. As the cold air travels over the relatively warmer waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait moisture off the water moves up into the colder air and is brought onshore in the form of flurries and snow squalls. The intensity of the snow squalls is dependent on the temperature difference between the water and the air as well as the distance the cold wind blows over the water before reaching shore.

As above the bands of snow can become intense producing accumulation and poor visibility. They are also quite narrow with widely varied conditions possible even within a small geographic area.

While the snow squall risk is limited to a relatively small area of the Maritimes, the entire region will feel a bit of a “bite” to the air Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Low temperatures will fall a few to several degrees below freezing tonight for much of the region with the wind remaining blustery.