Freezing rain warnings issued ahead of an icy night in the Maritimes

Icy weather coming to the Maritimes CTV Atlantic meteorologist Kalin Mitchell shares the latest on freezing rain conditions heading to the region.

Environment Canada has issued freezing rain warnings for southwestern New Brunswick and much of northern/western mainland Nova Scotia.

The warnings come ahead of a mix of snow, ice pellets, and freezing rain that will build into the region Wednesday evening and night. Weather conditions favourable for ice build-up will continue into Thursday morning but will end moving into Thursday afternoon as temperatures rise above zero. The weather agency cautions "surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots will become icy, slippery and hazardous."

Along with the risk of freezing rain, an accumulating mix of snow and ice pellets is expected for parts of the Maritimes. A band of five to 10 cm looks likely for an area encompassing northwestern New Brunswick into the southeast of the province and then into parts of northern/eastern mainland Nova Scotia. A lighter mix of snow and ice pellets is expected for northeastern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton. Coastal areas in southwestern New Brunswick and southwestern Nova Scotia may hold temperatures just above freezing Wednesday night, allowing for the precipitation to fall mostly in the form of rain.

The icy mix of weather is the result of a weather front arriving up the eastern seaboard of the U.S. The front is off a low-pressure system that is bringing a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain from southeastern Manitoba all the way into eastern Ontario and southern Quebec.

The first of the mix of snow, ice pellets and freezing is expected to reach southwestern New Brunswick and southwestern Nova Scotia between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday. Light at first, the rate of precipitation will increase moving towards midnight as temperatures fall. By 2 a.m. Thursday morning, the mix of snow, ice pellets, freezing rain, and rain will be across most of the Maritimes, with the exception of northern areas of Cape Breton. The risk of freezing rain continues into daybreak on Thursday.

By noon Thursday, most temperatures should be above freezing turning the precipitation over to rain, drizzle, and fog. Light, patchy freezing rain could linger in Cape Breton until mid-afternoon Thursday as temperatures for that part of the Maritimes look like they could take a bit longer to come up above zero. Remaining rain and drizzle is expected to end and clear Thursday evening and night.

I'll have updates, timelines, and regional weather conditions on CTV News Atlantic 5, 6, and 11:30 p.m.