Saturday rain in the Maritimes will clear in time for Mother’s Day

It will be a soggy start to the weekend, but the rain is expected to clear for Mother’s Day. CTV Atlantic Chief Meteorologist Kalin Mitchell has the latest.

A low-pressure system moving up from Cape Cod will bring rain, drizzle, and fog to the Maritimes Saturday. The silver lining is that the bulk of the wet weather will be clear of the region for Mother’s Day on Sunday.

Saturday rain and drizzle

Rain and drizzle will develop across the Maritimes Saturday morning through Saturday afternoon. Eastern parts of the Maritimes including Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton will be last to receive the wet weather.

There may be some brief downpours during the rain. The risk of downpour is highest from noon Saturday through 5 p.m. During lulls in the rain expect patchy fog and drizzle.

Most of the rain will clear Saturday afternoon for southern New Brunswick and western Nova Scotia. The rain will clear Northern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton by Saturday evening. There will be fog patches and chances of showers overnight into Sunday morning.

In general, 10 to 40 mm of rainfall is expected for the Maritimes. Most areas will get between 10 and 20 mm. The highest chance of heavier rain is on the South Shore of Nova Scotia and in New Brunswick. Rain totals of less than 10 mm are possible in eastern areas of Nova Scotia and the northwestern corner of New Brunswick.

The amount of rain expected shouldn’t cause any hazards. In the event of a downpour watch for reduced visibility and hydroplaning conditions on the roads.

Mother’s Day outlook

The low-pressure system is expected to move into position near the western coastline of Newfoundland by early Sunday morning.

There will be a low chance of showers on the eastern coastline of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and eastern Nova Scotia on Sunday. The chance of spotty, isolated showers will be about 40 per cent for communities in that region.

Those same areas will be cooler on Sunday with highs of 8 to 12 degrees. The remainder of the region can expect highs of 12 to 16 degrees.

A sustained northwest wind between 20 to 30 km/h with gusts of 30 and 50 km/h will be present in those areas on Sunday.

Mother’s Day snowstorm for Labrador?

In Labrador this Mother’s Day the best gift might be some help shovelling snow.

The northern edge of the weekend low pressure system is expected to impact Labrador from the Churchill Valley to the coast with heavy snow and strong winds.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the area expecting the worst weather. The alert says snow totals could reach 15-to-25 cm accompanied by northerly winds gusting between 60 and 80 km/h. The agency recommends that anybody travelling for Mother’s Day plan accordingly to arrive ahead of the weather.