First significant fall rain lined up for the Maritimes Thursday night into Friday

CTV Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell with the details of much needed rain for the Maritimes Thursday night into Friday.

The weather front that passed through on Tuesday didn’t bring much more than trace amounts to a few millimetres of rain to the Maritimes.

The next round of rain and showers expected Thursday night and Friday looks more helpful when it comes to the drought conditions. Hurricane Gabrielle is expected to approach the western Azores of Portugal late Thursday.

Thursday night into Friday rain

A developing low-pressure system moving through the northeastern United States will bring rain and showers to the Maritimes Thursday night into Friday.

Cloud cover will roll in from the southwest through the day on Thursday. A chance of lighter rain/showers for the Tri-County region of Nova Scotia and communities along the border of New Brunswick and Maine by early Thursday evening.

Rain and showers then develop across the Maritimes Thursday night into Friday morning. The rain clears west-to-east Friday with Cape Breton last for the wet weather Friday afternoon.

This looks like the type of rainfall we need more of.

A widespread five-to-15 millimetres with pockets as high as 15-to-40 millimetres. Areas of the Maritimes that have the highest chance of a soaking rain include northwestern New Brunswick and along the Bay of Fundy coastline, much of Nova Scotia, and eastern Prince Edward Island.

Several more rain events such as this would be helpful for the region over the coming weeks. The outlook for next week isn’t overly promising for rain. High-pressure and drier conditions look most likely.

Hurricane Gabrielle threatens the Azores

A Hurricane warning has been issued for the Azores islands of Portugal.

Gabrielle is forecast to approach as a category-one hurricane with maximum sustained winds near the centre of the storm of 150 km/h Thursday night.

Hurricane force winds may batter parts of the island chance Thursday night into Friday morning. Coastal flooding and storm surge will be a danger where the wind is more directly onshore. Which could include the southern coastlines of the islands of Flores, Faial, Pico, Graciosa, Sao Jorge and Terceira.

The storm may also bring a rainfall of 75 to 125 mm across the central and western Azores. 25 to 50 mm for the eastern Azores. Individuals in the Azores should be monitoring issued weather alerts and safety information from local authorities.

More developing storms possible in the Atlantic

There are two areas in the southwestern Atlantic being monitored for possible tropical storm or hurricane development over the next several days.

The highest potential is with an organizing area of thunderstorms currently sitting well east of the Leeward Caribbean Islands. That is being given a 90 per cent chance of developing into a tropical depression or tropical storm over the next 48 hours.

The second area is a group of thunderstorms located near Puerto Rico. Those thunderstorms are forecast to drift towards the Turks and Caicos Islands over the coming days. As they get over open ocean water, they may find a favourable environment to organize into a tropical depression or tropical storm. That area is currently given a low chance (30 per cent) of development over the next 48 hours but a high chance (80 per cent) over the next seven days.

There are currently no indications of an imminent risk to the Maritimes. Any storm development will need to be monitored though as they will eventually take a turn towards the north. When that northward turn happens it will come down to whether they get close enough to have some weather impact or whether they pass by to the east.