Eastern Canada digs out from yet another messy winter storm

Residents of eastern Quebec and the Maritimes are digging out yet again after a strong winter storm passed through Eastern Canada over the weekend.

The system swept up the Atlantic coast, and brought powerful winds with a mix of rain, followed by freezing rain and snow over Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and the Gaspé Peninsula starting Saturday night, and then on Sunday it pushed into Newfoundland and brought a second bought of mixed weather to the areas affected the day before.

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According to Environment Canada, a total of 33mm of rain fell in Halifax, followed by 4cm of snow, Yarmouth reported 10mm of rain and 14cm of snow, and up in Syndey they got doused with 55mm of rain, with 14cm of snow on top of that. In New Brunswick, the storm skipped the rain and went right to snow, dumping 27cm on Moncton, 24cm in St. John and 21cm in the Fredericton area, while on the Gaspé Peninsula, snowfall totals ranged from 20-45cm from heavy snow and blowing snow, and Gaspé Airport reported a total of 61cm from heavy and blowing snow by 8:00a.m. Monday morning. No weather statement was issued for P.E.I., but according to hourly reports, Charlottetown managed to pick up about 10cm of snow and blowing snow.

When the storm moved into Newfoundland, Sunday morning, it brought the same mix of precipitation that hit Nova Scotia, with St. John's and the Avalon Peninsula getting mostly rain (up to 24mm falling in St. John's), and more snow up towards Gander, where they've received nearly 19cm of the white stuff as of midday Monday.

Strong winds accompanied the rain and snow, with wind speeds over 100 km/h across most regions affected by the storm, and getting up to 161 km/h at Grand Etang, on Cape Breton Island, and 170 km/h in Wreckhouse, Newfoundland.

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These powerful winds, with gusts reaching hurricane force, added to the severity of the storm by kicking up blowing and drifting snow. Poor driving conditions across the Maritimes prompted authorities to advise staying off the roads and delaying any travel plans until the storm passes.

The snow and gusty winds are expected to persist through today, as will the poor driving conditions, but after this system moves on, the winds should die down and temperatures will creep upwards, giving a fairly mild week for the Atlantic provinces.

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