Gert churns up the Atlantic

Hurricane Gert is not going to pose any threat to land in Atlantic Canada according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre but it will be felt in the sea.

The swell from the Category 1 storm will move into the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia on Wednesday (16 August) and will persist into Thursday.

The swell will produce waves breaking up to three metres along parts of the coast and rip currents are likely.

Forecasters say Gert will not produce any rainfall for the region but the tropical moisture could feed into another low pressure system arriving later this week.

Much needed rain arrives

Heavy downpour during thunderstorm in NE Moncton, 11 Aug 2017 (Dearing)

A thunderstorm rolled through Greater Moncton on Friday afternoon and it was a welcome sight when two periods of downpours brought much needed rain.

A fire ban had been in place across Southern New Brunswick but more rain today lowered the fire hazard and burning is now allowed from 8pm to 8am.

The last significant rainfall in Greater Moncton was 8.2 mm on 21 July and prior to that it was 21.2 mm on 24 June.

Agriculture Canada has declared that much of Prince Edward Island is experiencing a drought with little rain since early June.

A heat wave named Lucifer

Temperatures across southern Europe have been so hot in recent days – climbing to more than 40 C in some areas – the heat wave has been called “Lucifer”.

Several deaths have been reported and severe weather warnings have been issued in Spain, France, Italy and the Balkan States.

Serbia’s capital Belgrade reached a scorching 39 C and train service in the southern part of the country was halted after rail tracks buckled in the extreme heat.

By contrast, northern Europe has been much cooler and wetter with the thermometer dropping as low as 4 C in the Scottish Highlands.

Rain… finally!

Location of forest fire, south of Riverview, NB (Google Maps)

Some much needed rain finally fell over parts of New Brunswick early this morning which helped firefighters who are battling a number of forest fires.

A fire about 3 km south of Riverview town limits is now considered “under control” and officials say the rain helped and ground crews are now focusing on hot spots.

The fire was reported on Saturday morning and was attacked by several water bombers and crews from the Department of Natural Resources, Riverview and Hillsborough.

A total of 15 fires are currently burning across the province which are being described as either “contained”, “under control” or “being patrolled”.

N.B. halts forestry operations amid extreme dryness

Tinder dry grass in west end Moncton, 03 Aug 2017 (Dearing)

Provincial officials say the fire hazard in New Brunswick is at its highest level in over 20 years.

A fire ban has been in place for days which means campers have to find other ways to roast marshmallows.

The province took a rare step today by restricting forestry operations during peak daytime hours.

Southeast New Brunswick currently has an extreme fire hazard and Greater Moncton has not recorded any significant rain since 21 July.