N.B. sees first significant snowfall in the Maritimes, more to come Wednesday

New Brunswick has seen the first significant snowfall of the season in the Maritimes.

Several centimetres of snow fell on parts of northern New Brunswick Sunday night into Monday morning, with reports of 16 centimetres of snow in Grand Falls, N.B.  

Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings for parts of northern New Brunswick, including Campbellton and Restigouche County, Monday morning, but the warnings have since been lifted.

The low-pressure system that brought the snow is clearing northeast of the Maritimes. In the wake of the low, a gusty and colder northwest wind is blowing. The strong winds prompted Environment Canada to issue wind warnings for parts of P.E.I. Monday morning, and the Confederation Bridge has restricted certain classes of vehicle from crossing until the wind dies down.

A wind warning was still in effect in Cape Breton’s Inverness County Monday afternoon and Marine Atlantic has cancelled ferry crossings for the day.

The wind for the region will diminish Monday night into Tuesday. A breezy northwest wind on Tuesday will keep a colder brand of November air in place for the Maritimes.

A cold and breezy northwest wind is expected Tuesday.

A mix of snow and rain is expected Wednesday, resulting from a Texas low speeding up the U.S. eastern seaboard and then tracking up the Bay of Fundy and into the Gulf St. Lawrence. That track will place Nova Scotia and P.E.I. on the rainy, windy side of the system, with accumulating snow most likely for central and northern New Brunswick.

How much snow? It appears the heaviest swath will run from Woodstock to Edmundston and then northeast towards Bathurst, where 10 to 25 cm is expected. Further south, the snow will mix with ice pellets and rain, dropping the range to 5 to 10 cm for Fredericton, and then generally 5 cm or less towards Moncton and Saint John.

Some initial snow may fall in western areas of P.E.I. and the Cape Breton Highlands before turning to rain. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island will see most of the precipitation fall in the form of rain with amounts of 10 to 25 mm.

Northern New Brunswick will be on the colder, snowier side of the Wednesday storm. Much of the rest of the Maritimes will see a turn to rain or mostly rain.

Snow and rain will arrive in the west of the Maritimes Wednesday afternoon, building into eastern areas Wednesday evening. Snow and rain will ease west-to-east Thursday morning. Areas of showers and flurries may linger into Thursday afternoon.

An east and southeast wind will peak with gusts of 40 to 70 km/h for southern New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia Wednesday evening and night.

A north and northeast wind will peak with gusts of 30 to 50 km/h for northern New Brunswick during the same period. The wind will turn west and northwest Thursday, with gusts diminishing into a range of 20 to 40 km/h.

A mix of snow and rain will develop west-to-east across the Maritimes Wednesday afternoon and evening.

I’ll be tracking the system carefully over the next 24 to 48 hours and will have updates on our CTV Atlantic News programming at Noon, 5, 6, and 11:30 PM.