Snow piles up in Cape Breton; weekend weather rainy and windy
March weather was out like a lion for Cape Breton. The Island was thumped by another heavy, spring snowfall Thursday into Friday. Friday morning reports from a network of volunteer observers came in with amounts of 10 to 20 cm, with snow still falling and accumulating. By noon on Friday, I had unofficial reports from several communities in Cape Breton that new snow totalled 20 to 30 cm.
The cold front brought in snow amounts ranging from a trace up to several centimetres for other areas of the Maritimes on Thursday. Some locally higher amounts of near 10 cm reported on parts of the North Shore of mainland Nova Scotia. The snow came in the form of squalls which reduced visibility for periods of time leading to tricky driving conditions.
Snowfall for much of the Maritimes ranged from trace amounts up to several centimetres. Snow continued into Friday for Cape Breton with sources on the Island reporting amounts of 10 to 30 cm.
No April fool’s joke, another round of inclement weather is headed into the Maritimes this weekend.
This next weather maker is a strong low pressure system in the mid-western US. The centre of the storm will move into the St. Lawrence River Valley but the associated weather fronts will push into the Maritimes on Saturday. The system is triggering severe thunderstorms with a risk of tornadoes in the United States but for the Maritimes it will be snow turning to rain accompanied by gusty winds.
Snow turning to rain develops across the Maritimes, southwest to northeast, Saturday morning into afternoon.
Snow will start before sunrise on Saturday in the southwest of New Brunswick and the southwest of Nova Scotia. The snow will then turn to rain and spread across the region by early Saturday afternoon. Initial snow before the rain is expected to be limited to up to a few centimetres for most. Parts of northern New Brunswick could pick up a slushy 5 to 10 cm before a switch to rain. Rain totals of 5 to 15 mm expected except 15 to 30 mm for the tri-county region of southwestern Nova Scotia. Precipitation will ease to scattered showers and flurries Saturday night.
The change to rain is expected to be quick enough to limit snow for most of the region. Parts of northern New Brunswick might pick up 5 to 10 cm of slushy snow.
A gusty southerly wind will accompany the snow turning to rain. Gusts on Saturday will peak between 30 and 60 km/h. The wind becomes westerly on Sunday in the wake of the system and is expected to reach gusts of 40 to 70 km/h. The wind is forecast to diminish Sunday night. The west wind will bring in some colder air off the continent and low temperatures Sunday night are expected to be below freezing across the region. Wet surfaces could turn icy as a result.
Forecast updates and regional weather conditions on CTV News Atlantic 5, 6, and 11:30 PM.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.