Cape Breton Highlands have more than two feet of snow with more to come

Rain, snow falling across Maritimes Showers and snow are expected to fall in parts of the Maritimes Monday depending on where you are in the region.

A powerful winter storm that landed squarely in Newfoundland this weekend also brought rounds of snow and stronger winds to eastern parts of the Maritimes Sunday into Monday. Peak wind gusts exceeded 110 km/h for many coastal areas of Newfoundland. A gust of 151 km/h was recorded at Sagona Island.

Snow reports

A weather station located at North Mountain in the Cape Breton Highlands reported at increase in snow-on-ground of 63 cm, or more than two feet. Other automated weather stations in Inverness and Victoria counties reported snow increases of 10-to-20 cm Sunday into early Monday afternoon.

It is common to see the snow accumulation increase significantly with the increased elevation of the Cape Breton Highlands. The rising topography allows for more lift in the atmosphere which then increases the amount of snow that falls. This is especially true when the wind direction is from the west or northwest due to additional moisture being drawn off the Gulf of St. Lawrence in that wind.

Bands of snow and snow squalls also impacted eastern Prince Edward Island and the North Shore of mainland Nova Scotia. Snow reports total more than 15 cm in parts of Kings County, P.E.I. There are few reports available from the North Shore of Nova Scotia but periods of poor visibility in localized areas were likely Sunday into Monday as the high wind created blowing and drifting snow.

Warnings and improvement

As of early Monday afternoon, a Winter Storm Warning remained in effect for Inverness and Victoria counties, Kings County and the Magdalen Islands. The warnings call for another two-to-four cm of snow for the Magdalens and Prince Edward Island, another 10-to-20 cm of snow for parts of Inverness and Victoria counties and up to another 50 cm in the highest elevations of the Cape Breton Highlands.

The falling snow is still accompanied by a northwest wind occasionally gusting to 70 km/h.

Conditions in those areas are expected to improve Monday evening and night as the wind diminishes. All those areas, along with much of the Maritimes, can expect periods of lighter snow and flurries on Tuesday.

Cold continues

A seasonal round of colder winter air has settled into the Maritimes. The cold will through much of this week but will moderate slightly by Friday.

Lighter snow and flurries will be present across the Maritimes on Tuesday. In most cases the snow is expected to range between trace amounts up to five centimetres.

There will be a breezy northwest for Tuesday with gusts of 20-to-40 km/h. Taking into account the wind chill, much of the Maritimes will start the day with “feels like” temperatures of -9 C to -18 C.

In the longer range outlook, a winter storm is expected to develop on the U.S. eastern seaboard Friday into Saturday. While it’s too early to tell if it will directly impact the Maritimes next weekend, if it does come close enough it will bring our next chance of a more widespread, significant snowfall to the region.