Weekend weather flips Maritimes from warm to cold; snow possible next week

A pedestrian holds her phone with a bare hand on a cold, windy day. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Big changes are coming for our weather in the Maritimes over the weekend.

Warmer October temperatures extend into Saturday. A combination of a mix of sun and cloud and southerly winds will allow highs to range 17 to 23 degrees for most of the region. New daily high temperature records are possible for an Oct. 28 for some areas. As an example, the Halifax area could near the standing record of 20 degrees set back on Oct. 28, 2008.

Saturday will be warm, with a mix of sun and cloud, and a low chance of some isolated showers. A cold front also approaches from Quebec.

If the milder fall conditions are to your liking, soak it in Saturday. Sunday will be significantly cooler with colder fall weather expected next week.

The change comes Saturday night as the region experiences a northwest wind behind a cold front. That wind will tap into Arctic-sourced air that has been making its way west-to-east across the country this week. The high temperatures on Sunday look to range four to 10 degrees. In some cases that will be down a good 10 degrees or more from the Saturday highs.

By Sunday morning, the cold front will have crossed the Maritimes. Significantly cooler temperatures are expected in a blustery northwest wind.

With colder air in place and a low-pressure system moving out of the northeastern U.S., a mix of rain and snow is possible Monday. The greatest chance of any accumulating slushy snow is for New Brunswick. A few to several slushy centimetres is possible for that province.

While mostly a cold rain for the remainder of the Maritimes, some snow looks possible for some of the higher terrain in Nova Scotia. That would include the more mountainous areas of Cumberland and Colchester Counties as well as the Cape Breton Highlands. I’d caution that some slick road conditions could be possible for the Cobequid Pass on Monday.

Accumulating, slushy snow looks likely for parts of New Brunswick Monday. It is possible as well in the higher terrain of Nova Scotia.

Looking for the silver lining for the Halloween forecast -- so far, the rain-snow mix looks largely clear of the Maritimes by Tuesday. A cold Halloween evening is expected with clearing conditions for most. There remains a chance of some showers for Prince Edward Island, the North Shore of mainland Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton. The chance of showers for those areas extends into Tuesday evening.

Dress for evening temperatures that will be falling into the low-to-mid single digits. A blustery northwest wind will be blowing, adding a bit of an extra chill to the air. Early evening gusts of 20 to 40 km/h diminish gradually moving towards midnight.

Dress for a cold Halloween this year. There is a chance of showers in eastern parts of the region.