January 2018 – Turbulent!

The Petitcodiac River in Moncton looking toward Dieppe, 28 January 2018 (Dearing)

The first month of 2018 proved to be quite a roller coaster ride in Southeast New Brunswick.

Bitter cold to begin January was briefly erased by a fast-moving ‘bomb cyclone’ until another Arctic blast sunk the low to -22.3 C with a bitter wind chill of -36.

A record thaw saw the thermometer climb to 16.7 C in Greater Moncton – the highest ever in January – and a new all-time provincial high of 17.3 C in Sussex.

Precipitation was above average overall with near normal snowfall – 25 cm was the heaviest snow event on 30-31 – and about twice as much rainfall.

JANUARY 2018 ALMANAC (at Greater Moncton Int’l Airport, 1981-2010)

Average HIGH  -2.0 C

Average LOW  -12.6 C

AVERAGE  -7.4 C (1.5 degrees ABOVE normal)

Extreme HIGH  16.7 C (13 Jan, new all-time monthly high)

Extreme LOW  -22.3 C (07 Jan)

RAINFALL  53.3 mm (almost 50 percent ABOVE normal)

SNOWFALL  77.2 cm (NEAR normal)

(Data courtesy Environment Canada)

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Heavy rain causes flooding in Greater Moncton

Mill Creek spills banks over Route 114 at Riverview town limits, 15 Jan 2014 (Dearing)

Greater Moncton received 30.8 mm of rain yesterday which breaks the previous record of 21 mm from 1992 according to Environment Canada.

As a result of the heavy rain and snowmelt, flooding has become a problem in low lying areas.

Acadie Avenue in Dieppe, a provincial highway carrying more than 24,000 vehicles per day, has been virtually shut down due to flooding although efforts are being made to open at least one lane of traffic.

In Riverview, Hillsborough Road at the town limits has been inundated with water after Mill Creek spilled its banks today leading to a lengthy detour for many motorists.

Route 106 between Memramcook and Dorchester has also been closed due to flooding this week.

The forecast is calling for at least 10 mm of rain in Southeast New Brunswick tomorrow.

Frosty morning for many in NB

Scattered frost was reported across Southeast New Brunswick this morning – the first of the season for many but none was found in my northeast Moncton neighborhood.

Environment Canada indicated a low of 1.7°C at the Greater Moncton International Airport in Dieppe compared to the record of -1.7°C from 1948.

Saint John dropped slightly below freezing at -0.1°C while Fredericton also fell to 1.7°C.

Edmundston was the cold spot in the province today with a low of -2.5°C.