How much snow and ice to expect on Friday in the Maritimes

CTV Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell goes over the timing, amounts, and impacts of a messy mix of weather for the Maritimes to start the Easter weekend

The second warm front of the week will return a mix of snow, ice pellets, freezing rain, and rain to the Maritimes on Friday. Once again northern and eastern areas will be most impacted by snowy and icy conditions.

Timing

A light mix of snow and ice pellets will reach western New Brunswick early Friday morning. Light rain with a risk of freezing rain in southwestern Nova Scotia.

The mix of precipitation will develop west-to-east across the Maritimes moving into and through Friday afternoon.

The mix of precipitation will continue but ease to become lighter Friday evening and night. By Saturday morning the mix lingering as scattered flurries and showers.

Heavy snow northern New Brunswick

The weather front is forecast to produce a very heavy spring snowfall for northern New Brunswick and the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec.

Depending on how much mixing in of ice pellets there is with the snow, snow could accumulate 10-to-25 cm in the area from Edmundston across Campbellton-Dalhousie and into Bathurst and the Acadian Peninsula. Most of that accumulation would occur during the day on Friday. Snowfall warnings have been issued for the areas expected to be impacted by the heavier snowfall.

Snow and ice pellet accumulation of 5-to-10 also possible for western Prince Edward Island and parts of Cape Breton. In Cape Breton even higher snow totals of 15-to-20 cm are possible in the highest elevations of the Highlands.

More freezing rain expected

An extended period of ice pellets and freezing rain is expected on Friday for central/eastern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and northern/eastern Nova Scotia.

Much of that part of the Maritimes is at risk of seeing light-to-moderate icing conditions. Even a light glaze is enough to make for slippery roads, parking lots, driveways, and sidewalks. Moderate ice accretion of 2-to-5 mm could produce enough weight to start to bend tree branches. If those branches then contact power lines it can create isolated power outages.

A quick turn to rain is expected for southwestern areas of New Brunswick, including Saint John, as well as western Nova Scotia. Rain totals of 5-to-15 mm expected.