From snow to sun, weather whiplash to start in the Maritimes this week

CTV Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell has rain reports from a stormy Sunday for the Maritimes. Temperatures warm up for the region on Tuesday.

The changes in weather this time of the year can come fast and furious and that is certainly the case this week in the Maritimes.

A strong low-pressure system swept inclement conditions across the region Sunday and it will be followed by a couple of generally fair and warmer early May days.

Rain and snow reports

The storm system on Sunday brought parts of the Maritimes heavy rain, high wind and even some snow. The most widespread rainfall of 20 to 40-plus mm occurring across western Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Rain totaled lower for parts of northern and western New Brunswick as well as eastern Nova Scotia.

The snow occurred along the back edge of the rain but did accumulate to as much as five-to-10 cm in parts of southwestern Nova Scotia. There was even some “thundersnow,” which is the occurrence of a thunderstorm with snow falling instead of rain. Of course, no snow is going to stick around for long this time of the year especially with most of the Maritimes clearing to sunnier conditions on Monday.

Warmer Tuesday, risk of thunderstorms

A few clouds with a low chance of showers will drift across southern New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia Monday evening. There will be mainly clear conditions overnight.

Much of the Maritimes will be sunny and warmer, but with a gusty southwest wind Tuesday. High temperatures will reach the high-teens and low-20s except low-to-mid teens on coastlines exposed to the southwest wind. That will be mostly the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia and Bay of Fundy coastline of New Brunswick.

A cold front moving into the St. Lawrence River Valley will return showers to northwestern New Brunswick Tuesday afternoon. The showers will be accompanied by a risk of thunderstorms. It is possible a few showers or thunderstorms will continue into northern and western areas of New Brunswick Tuesday evening.

That same weather front brings further scattered showers to New Brunswick on Wednesday. Rain and showers will become more widespread for the Maritimes Wednesday night into Thursday morning.