Spring snow brings possible slippery start to parts of the Maritimes Thursday

A beautiful first sunrise of spring at Florence, N.S., on March 20, 2024. (Courtesy: Judith Brennan)

With the equinox having occurred at 12:06 AM, Wednesday, we are now into the start of astronomical spring. Spring snow isn’t uncommon for the Maritimes, as we have some in the forecast.

Spring mix

A low-pressure system moving out of the northeastern U.S. Wednesday will cross New Brunswick on Thursday. The weather system is bringing the Maritimes a mix snow, flurries, and showers through that time.

Showers and flurries first arrive in western New Brunswick and southwestern Nova Scotia Wednesday afternoon. The mix becomes more widespread for the region Wednesday evening and night.

A mix of showers and flurries moves across the Maritimes Wednesday night into Thursday morning. A period of snow possible Thursday morning for parts of central and northern New Brunswick. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)

Snowy start for parts of New Brunswick

The mixture of flurries and showers may intensify into accumulating snow for central and northern areas of New Brunswick early Thursday morning. With temperatures near freezing, some accumulation of one to five centimetres may occur for Fredericton and north in the province to get Thursday started. While not a tremendous amount, it may be enough to create some slippery spots for the Thursday morning drive.

Further snow and flurries throughout the day on Thursday may total additional snow in the hilly and mountainous areas of northern New Brunswick. Some snow totals for that higher terrain could reach five-to-15 cm by the end of the day. Gusty winds will accompany the falling snow and could blow it around enough to reduce visibility for brief periods of time.

With temperatures hovering near freezing and snow falling early Thursday morning watch for possible slick spots in central and northern areas of New Brunswick to start Thursday. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)

Windy Thursday

As above, gusty winds are expected to accompany the passage of the low-pressure system on Thursday. Peak wind gusts could reach 50-to-80 km/h on Thursday. The highest gusts are most likely at higher terrain and exposed areas of the coast. For most of the Maritimes the wind will be out of the west and southwest during the day on Thursday and then changing to west and northwest Thursday night.

Due to the topography of the Cape Breton Highlands, the wind gusts will be stronger in Inverness County from Margaree Harbour to Bay St. Lawrence. The area is under a wind warning by Environment Canada. Gusts up to or in excess of 100 km/h are expected Thursday morning through Thursday afternoon.

The passing low-pressure system brings a windy day on Thursday. Gusts could peak as high as 50 to 80 km/h and even stronger in northern Inverness County, Cape Breton. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)