Weather front approaches the Maritimes with rain and showers Friday into Saturday

A look at Wednesday rain totals CTV Atlantic meteorologist Kalin Mitchell shares rainfall amounts recorded around the Maritimes Wednesday and a look at Thursday conditions.

Rain reports and thunderstorm chances

Hit-and-miss rain totals were reported across the Maritimes on Wednesday, the result of the scattered coverage of showers and thunderstorms. Some relatively small geographical areas, such as around Fredericton, reported highly varied amounts due to the spottiness of downpours.

With a ridge of high-pressure building from the west on Thursday, not as much in the way of showers or thunderstorms is expected. A pop-up shower or thunderstorm is possible for Bathurst and the northeast of New Brunswick, parts of southern New Brunswick, and the area in Nova Scotia running from the northern Annapolis Valley towards Truro and into Pictou County.

On Friday, scattered showers along with isolated thunderstorms develop in New Brunswick through the day. The risk of thunderstorms will be highest between noon and 7 p.m. The showery weather is a result of a cold front approaching from over the St. Lawrence River Valley in Quebec.

Weekend rain and showers

As the cold front moves into the Maritimes Friday night, showers are expected to reach both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The front may draw additional moisture off a separate weather system over the Atlantic to produce further periods of rain on Saturday. Areas that could get into a period of steadier rain include southern New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and P.E.I. Showers with the system will produce rain totals of two to 10 mm. The areas that get steadier rain can expect 10 to 40 mm.

Florida connection, watch the forecast

A cautionary note on the Saturday rain. The system over the Atlantic is what remains of the one that brought extensive flooding to the state of Florida this week. In some cases, when a front moves in from the west and a low is moving up from the south, the two can become more entwined, enhancing the rain expected.

I’d rate it only as a low chance at this time, but a scenario still worth watching for, especially in Nova Scotia. Current satellite imagery shows there is still a tremendous amount of moisture tied up in that Florida system. If it did combine with the cold front more than expected, it would certainly be capable of producing a risk of flooding in heavy rain or downpours. My recommendation would be to check in on the forecast a couple times heading into Saturday.

That same system continues to be given a low chance of tropical development. An area in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be monitored for chance of tropical system development as well.