Heavy rain, wind after record highs

Tree downed in key intersection of downtown Moncton, 09 June 2017 (Wade Perry/Twitter)

A low pressure system moved into the Maritimes today bringing up to 40 mm of rain to Greater Moncton.

A strong thunderstorm also rolled through Southeast New Brunswick in the early evening with wind speeds clocked as high as 102 km/h.

The brief but powerful gusts downed trees and branches onto power lines and caused thousands of power outages.

Environment Canada had not issued any weather warnings for the region.

The storm replaced a warm air mass which set record highs in at least four New Brunswick communities yesterday.

The hotspot was Kouchibouguac National Park which climbed to 32 C and that beats the maximum from 1992.

Moncton and Doaktown both tied their record highs of 30.6 C for the date.

January 2017 – Milder, less snowy but icy

Ice buildup tilts power pole in Salisbury, NB, 25 Jan 2017 (Facebook/Salisbury Happenings)

The defining weather event of January 2017 in New Brunswick was the devastating ice storm which brought down power lines and poles leaving more than 133,000 electricity customers in the dark for days.

Freezing rain and ice pellets began falling in Greater Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick on 25 January and the storm eventually moved northeast to Miramichi and the Acadian Peninsula.

Emergency shelters were set up in churches and community centres and the military was called in to help after some households were still without power a week later.

While overnight lows became frigid during the early and middle parts of the month, daytime highs were generally much milder than usual.

JANUARY 2017 ALMANAC (at Greater Moncton Int’l Airport, 1981-2010)

Average HIGH  -1.2 C

Average LOW  -9.5 C

AVERAGE  -5.3 C (about 3.6 degrees ABOVE normal)

Extreme HIGH  8.5 C (12 January)

Extreme LOW  -23.2 C (10 January)

RAINFALL  65.7 mm (about 100 percent ABOVE normal)

SNOWFALL  48.9 cm (about 60 percent BELOW normal)

(Data courtesy Environment Canada)

Acadian Peninsula pounded by ice storm

Icy road on the Acadian Peninsula, 27 Jan 2017 (Twitter)

While Greater Moncton was hard hit by this week’s ice storm so was much of eastern New Brunswick including the Acadian Peninsula.

At least three communities have declared states of emergency – Tracadie-Sheila, Lameque and Shippagan – in what has been the most devastating ice storm in recent memory.

Two deaths have been reported and many others hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning related to an alternate source of indoor heating amid the massive power outages.

Power poles have snapped in half under the weight of ice-laden lines and downed trees and branches have shut down roads as the cleanup begins.

As of Saturday 28 January at 9am, NB Power reports about 46,000 customers are still without power and almost half are in the Acadian Peninsula.

NB ice storm cleanup continues

Power pole and lines dangling in NW Moncton, 25 Jan 2017 (Facebook)

Some residents of New Brunswick have been without power for more than 24 hours after the worst ice storm in recent memory.

NB Power has about 250 crews on the ground and more from neighbouring Nova Scotia trying to restore electricity in what officials are calling a “huge weather event”.

By the end of today, the power utility believes 80 percent of customers in Greater Moncton and Sussex will be back on the grid while 60 percent in Shediac, Sackville and Miramichi should be restored.

Warming centres have opened in several communities where residents can seek shelter and charge their electronic devices.

Fortunately temperatures are not very cold and should not fall below freezing until early Friday.

Damaging winds in latest storm

Part of a trampoline blew into power lines, Quispamsis, NB, 30 Dec 2013 (NB Power/Twitter)

Strong winds with gusts of more than 100 km/h in parts of New Brunswick knocked out power to more than 20,000 customers at the peak of the storm.

The so-called “weather bomb” resulted after two low pressure systems – one from the west and the other from the south – merged over the Maritimes.

Nova Scotia got pounding rain, wind and rough surf while New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had a combination of snow, rain and gusty winds.

Greater Moncton received about 5 cm snow and 10 mm of rain along with wind gusts up to 89 km/h bringing down tree many branches.

1-2-3 storm punch

NB Power crews working near Fredericton, 01 Dec 2016 (NB Power/Twitter)

Three storms over a four day period brought an early blast of winter to Southeast New Brunswick.

The first was a Nor’easter which packed the smallest punch with just a dusting of snow in Greater Moncton (2 cm), the second delivered heavy, wet snow (26 cm) and the third started as snow (5.8 cm) but changed to rain (7.6 mm).

The heavy, wet snow brought down trees and branches causing thousands of power outages across southern New Brunswick on Wednesday.

Thousands more lost power when snow fell across the northern part of the province on Thursday.

Surprise! Lots of snow!

Heavy, wet snow brings down tree branches in Moncton, 30 Nov 2016 (Twitter)

Greater Moncton recorded a snowfall of almost 30 cm today which is not unusual for the end of November.

But it came as a surprise since Environment Canada had only forecast 10 cm of snow.

The heavy, wet snow fell over central and southeastern parts of New Brunswick while mostly rain was recorded in Saint John and along the Fundy coast.

The snow was too much for some trees and branches which fell onto power lines knocking out electricity to more than 41,000 customers at one point.

Trio of storms hit B.C.’s south coast

Total rainfall summary from the recent #BCstorm cycle pic.twitter.com/ucTH7x4B4n

— EC_BCweather (@EC_BCweather) October 17, 2016

Three storms in quick succession have battered the south coast of British Columbia delivering more than 200 mm of rain in some areas.

Strong winds gusting up to 100 km/h caused up to 300,000 power outages at one point and brought down at least 250 trees in Vancouver.

The series of storms were from the remnants of Super Typhoon Songda.

Turbulent Thanksgiving!

Floodwaters on Whitney Ave. in Sydney, NS, 10 Oct 2016 (Twitter)

Parts of Cape Breton Island received more than 200 mm of rain over the Thanksgiving weekend along with strong winds which flooded basements and washed out roads.

Mainland Nova Scotia including Halifax had more than 100 mm of rain and damaging winds which brought down trees and power lines causing widespread power outages.

Forecasters say a low pressure system fuelled by Matthew’s moisture brought the severe weather which also affected central Newfoundland where a state of emergency was declared in several communities.

The storm was less severe in New Brunswick with about 48 mm of rain in Greater Moncton with winds at times gusting more than 70 km/h.

Patricia remnants pound the Maritimes

Fall leaves barely cling to trees in west end Moncton, 28 Oct 2015 (Dearing)

What’s left of a recent hurricane that struck Mexico has made its way across the Maritimes after a brush with Ontario and Quebec.

The remnants of Patricia brought rain and winds gusting to at least 70 km/h.

Forecasters say strong winds across New Brunswick are creating rough surf along the coast especially the Bay of Fundy.

Up to 30 mm of rain is expected in Greater Moncton by the time the system moves away overnight.

The fall storm led to power outages with NB Power noting a peak of roughly 8,000 customers without electricity.