Weather warnings issued as mix of snow, ice pellets, and rain expected for Tuesday in the Maritimes

A pedestrian makes their way through wind and sleet in Halifax, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

A developing low-pressure system, moving up from the coastline of New England, will bring a mix of snow, ice pellets, and rain to the Maritimes Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday morning.

TIMING

There is a chance of some light snow or flurries on the South Shore of Nova Scotia Tuesday morning, with a turn from snow to rain expected for most of the province by early evening. For the rest of the Maritimes, snow will develop Tuesday afternoon into early evening and a turn from snow to rain is expected throughout the evening for the Bay of Fundy areas of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Most of the snow and rain will end in the very early morning hours of Wednesday. There will be a chance of flurries and possible icy conditions as temperatures return below freezing on Wednesday.

Snow develops across the Maritimes Tuesday afternoon into evening. Snow turning to rain for all but the northern half of New Brunswick through Tuesday evening.

SNOW AND RAIN AMOUNTS

Fredericton and northern New Brunswick will see the most snow and ice pellets, with 10 to 20 cm of accumulation. Snowfall warnings have been issued in the province. The Cape Breton Highlands could also pick up 10 to 20 cm. The rest of the Maritimes will get less than 10 cm of snow, followed by 10 to 25 mm of rain.

The most widespread amounts of 10 to 20 cm are expected Fredericton and north in New Brunswick.

WIND

The wind is not expected to match up to the two previous storms. Southeasterly gusts will reach a peak of 40 to 60 km/h for Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Tuesday evening and night. Easterly gusts will peak at 20 to 40 km/h for New Brunswick. Due to the topography of the Cape Breton Highlands, gusts in northern Inverness County could peak near 100 km/h Tuesday night before diminishing by Wednesday morning.

While gusty for Nova Scotia and PEI the wind speeds don’t look like they will match up to the two previous storm systems.

ICE ON WEDNESDAY

Temperatures will rise above freezing for a large area of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and parts of southern New Brunswick Tuesday evening and night. The rise in temperature will be accompanied by the turn from snow to rain. Temperatures for those areas will fall back below freezing Wednesday morning through Wednesday afternoon. Wet or slushy surfaces could turn icy during that time.