Soaking rains, 100 km/h winds, freeze hit the East Coast, power outages climb

Heavy rain and powerful winds swept into the Maritimes Wednesday, with gusts over 100 km/h reported at Halifax’s airport by Thursday morning. That prompted widespread warnings across the region, as the threat for power outage climbs.

By the early morning hours, more than 32,000 were already left in the dark.

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Rainfall totals will be significant as well, with as much as 100 mm possible by the time all is said and done. Southern New Brunswick will see the worst of the rain, though the threat for localized is widespread, as well. Especially because the frozen ground has a reduced capacity to absorb this amount of rain.

Flash freeze warnings cover parts of central and northern New Brunswick and Newfoundland, as temperatures take a fast and steady tumble, freezing any standing water on roads and surfaces. The quickly deteriorating conditions prompted several school closures across New Brunswick first thing Thursday.

Thursday: Rain, wind and a flash freeze

The Maritimes were the first in the region to see the impacts from this powerful late season winter storm. With the heaviest rain falling through the overnight hours on Wednesday, most areas woke up to a decent soaking Thursday morning.

The rain will continue to be persistent for the eastern Maritimes through the day on Thursday, with a transition over to snow on the backside of the system. An additional 10-20 mm of rain is expected for most areas, with storm totals ranging, depending on location. Southern New Brunswick bears the brunt of this soggy system, with as much as 100 mm possible before it winds down.

“Flooding is possible in places in the lowlands,” says Environment and Climate Change Canada in the warning. “Torrential rains can cause flash flooding and accumulation of water on roads.”

People will need to be cautious around waterways as a quick snowmelt from rising temperatures and rain could cause some rivers to overflow their banks.

Light rain will push into southwestern Newfoundland through Thursday, with just scattered showers expected for northern and eastern sections of the island.

The winds have been fierce and will remain quite strong through the first half of the day, with gusts between 80-100 km/h persisting for the southern Maritimes. The winds have taken a toll on power lines, and travel conditions, with ferry cancellations reported, as well.

Drivers are urged to adapt to the changing road conditions due to the high winds.

In addition to the rain, and winds, temperatures will take a quick and steady tumble with the passing of the cold front, prompting a flash freeze warning for parts of the region.

Areas of northern New Brunswick could see a 20-25°C drop in just six hours, while Nova Scotia and P.E.I. will see temperatures tumble by about 10°C. Factor in the wind chill, and things will be feeling brutally frigid by Friday, especially in comparison to the milder conditions earlier this week.

Surfaces, such as roads, streets, sidewalks and parking lots, may become icy and slippery with the sudden temperature drop.

Expect more travel troubles as sea-effect snow squalls follow the cold front, bringing snow to Cape Breton and western Newfoundland Friday.

Temperatures rebound significantly through the weekend

This blast of winter will be intense, but quick, as temperatures will rebound greatly on Saturday. Daytime high values will reach the double digits for much of the Maritimes.

Temperatures will be more typical of April, and even May, across the Maritimes through the middle of next week. Newfoundland will turn very mild for a few days next week. A couple of systems will bring primarily rain to the region mid and late next week.

An active pattern is expected through mid-March, and it is possible that there will be more cold air available for messy systems during the second week of the month.

Stay tuned to The Weather Network for the latest forecast updates for Atlantic Canada.