Stormy weather builds into the Maritimes Friday afternoon and evening

The leading edge of the stormy weather arrived in the Maritimes on Friday morning.

The storm was on the doorstep of the Maritimes Friday morning. Heavy rain, some snow, and strong winds building into afternoon and evening.

Light snow is moving into New Brunswick. with a risk of freezing rain for the St. John River Valley and light rain into Nova Scotia.

Gustier east winds are already present in the southwest of the Maritimes. Easterly gusts of 60 to 80 km/h are present west of Nova Scotia and near the Bay of Fundy coastline in New Brunswick.

Both the intensity of the wind and precipitation will increase moving through Friday afternoon and evening. By 9 p.m. Friday, widespread southeast gusts of 70 to 100 km/h across the Maritimes are expected. Stronger gusts are possible on exposed areas of the coast as well as in northern Inverness County, Cape Breton.

The strong wind is likely to cause some power outages and travel disruption. Marine Atlantic is postponing the late Friday ferries until Saturday and Bay Ferries is also cancelling sailings Friday and Saturday. The Confederation Bridge has posted an advisory that the wind may result in traffic restrictions.

Strong southeast gusts will be widespread across the Maritimes Friday evening and night.

The strongest winds pass by near, and just after, midnight, with the exception of Cape Breton where they could persist into early Saturday morning. A gusty southwest wind will remain across the Maritimes through the day Saturday.

Rainfall warnings remain in effect for Nova Scotia and much of New Brunswick. Rainfall totalling 20 to 50 mm may create runoff from saturated and frozen ground bringing a risk of hydroplaning conditions on roads and some minor flooding. Heavy downpours may be present in the rain and could reduce visibility for periods of time.

Some slushy snow accumulation is expected in northern areas of New Brunswick before a turn to rain Friday evening, which could range from 5 to 15 cm. Snowfall warnings are out for the Mount Carleton – Renous Highway and Bathurst and Chaleur areas.

Some accumulating snow is expected for northern areas of New Brunswick but it is largely rain for much of the rest of the Maritimes

Storm surge warnings are now in effect for the Bay of Chaleur and Acadian coastline in northeastern New Brunswick. They caution of large, crashing waves present at high tides near 4 a.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Saturday. The Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia from Yarmouth County to Halifax County is also under a storm surge warning calling for large crashing waves that could cause damage at highs tides Friday evening and Saturday morning.