Snow squalls and north-eastern winds forecast to hit P.E.I. starting Feb. 13, 2024

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — P.E.I. may be spared the worst of a storm heading through the region this week.

A fast-moving, low-pressure system is tracking towards Nova Scotia and P.E.I., reaching the Island in the evening of Feb. 13 before moving towards Newfoundland and Labrador.

SaltWire weather specialist Allister Aalders told SaltWire on Feb. 12 that estimates may change, but no major amount of snow is forecast for the Island.

“Certainly not as significant as the last event, and it won’t be as significant as what parts of Nova Scotia received, but certainly it will be a fair accumulation for parts of the island,” Aalders said.

Winds between 30 and 40 km/h are forecast for Feb. 13, increasing to between 40 and 60 km/h on Feb. 14, will be bringing snow squalls and cold temperatures to the Island from the north-east.

Because of these strong winds, weather estimates could vary into Feb. 13, entirely dependent on the system’s activities overnight Feb. 12.

Central and eastern P.E.I. are presently forecasted to get five to 10 centimetres of snow overnight on Feb. 13 and into Feb. 14, while western P.E.I. is expected to get one to two centimetres.

“That range is a bit broad, but it has to be when dealing with snow squalls because the amounts are often incredibly localized,” Aalders said.

Aalders said Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 could see another five to 15 centimetres of snow, depending on wind and system tracking.

Overall snowfall from the storm could be between five and 30 centimetres across the province, all dependent on the system’s track towards Newfoundland.

Because of the strong winds accompanying the storm, Aalders anticipated that snow squalls, rather than the quantity of snow, will be one of the prominent features of this system.

“There is still a fair amount of uncertainty at this point, which is a bit unfortunate, but with these systems it only takes a very slight shift in the track to have large overall changes,” Aalders said.

The weather system comes as snow clearing continues in parts of P.E.I. after the Island’s first major snowstorm of the year stalled over the province in the first week of February.

Quantities of snow varied across the province, with some areas such as St. Georges recording as much as 80 centimetres.

Because of gusting winds and blowing snow, snowplows were pulled from Island roads during the storm.

Outside of P.E.I., a state of local emergency was declared in Cape Breton Regional Municipality during the same storm, when the region received more than 100 centimetres of snow. This state of emergency has since expired on Feb. 11 as snow removal efforts continue.

Caitlin Coombes is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government. She can be reached by email at [email protected] and followed on X @caitlin_coombes.

Caitlin Coombes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Guardian