Temperatures fall as cold front sweeps across the Maritimes

CTV meteorologist Kalin Mitchell has rain reports for the Maritime provinces from the latest weather system and details on a chilly final weekend of March.

A cold front associated with a low-pressure system moving into the Labrador Sea clears east of Nova Scotia as a blustery northwest wind brings temperatures down sharply Friday night.

The latest weather system brought 10-to-30 mm of rain across the Maritimes. Rain totaled higher for some communities in Nova Scotia with a few amounts reported in the range 30-to-40+ mm.

The precipitation did start as some snow with some initial amounts of up to a few centimetres before the turn to rain. The snow added up a bit more for some of the northernmost communities of New Brunswick and the higher elevations of the Cape Breton Highlands.

Cold air flows in

The northwest wind will move colder air centred over Hudson Bay and northern Quebec down into the Maritimes.

That will bring low temperatures Friday night into Saturday down several degrees below average for the end of March. A cold start to the day on Saturday with daytime highs remaining a few to several degrees below zero.

Sunday night will be cold and the high temperatures on Sunday only come up by a few degrees. On Sunday most highs will range one-to-four degrees but will remain colder for parts of Prince Edward Island and eastern Nova Scotia with highs of minus-three to zero.

April outlook

Temperatures will recover to become seasonable by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

The first round of April rain and showers is also lined up for next week. A low-pressure system moving up the St. Lawrence River Valley is expected to sweep a series of weather fronts across the Maritimes Wednesday into Thursday.

As the precipitation arrives Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, it may initially be a mix of snow turning to rain for New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and eastern Nova Scotia. The last of the system clearing through early Thursday morning as a round of rain.