Wintry mix makes for slick travel across parts of the Maritimes

A low pressure system driving a wintry mix of precipitation has been moving through Atlantic Canada since late Wednesday and into Thursday.

Southwestern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and southern Avalon are forecast to see between 5 and 10 cm of snow with this current system.

The forecast for Nova Scotia, however, becomes trickier as the province will be seeing all different types of precipitation. But there could still be 5-10 cm of snow in the northern regions of Cape Breton Island.

Cumberland, Inverness and Victoria counties are forecast to see only snow, while southern Nova Scotia could be seeing a burst of snow, later transitioning from ice pellets to freezing rain. The widespread special weather statements issued Wednesday were dropped in the early hours Thursday morning.

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Halifax and the southern shores will see mostly rain, however, the threat of freezing rain is still present as the system transitions and shifts south, with the greatest threat being in the western reaches of the province. This poses a hazard for any travellers or commuters in the area as roads could become slippery.

As the system tracks east through Saturday, parts of southern Newfoundland could be seeing 5-10 cm of snow. For the St. John’s region, and along the Trans-Canada Highway, nearly 5 cm of snow is expected from this system.

Temperatures will be within a few degrees of seasonal this weekend and into next week.

Forecasters are watching the potential for the pattern to become more active during the second half of next week through mid-January as systems track from the southern U.S. to the U.S. East Coast and then out to sea. A couple systems could track far enough north to impact the region.

Be sure to check back for the latest weather updates across Atlantic Canada.