Storm coming to N.B.

Several weather outlets are forecasting a major winter storm will hit the Maritimes bringing heavy snow and strong winds to New Brunswick just days into 2018.

Blizzard conditions are possible along with large waves and high water levels along the coast.

Nova Scotia may get more rain along the Atlantic coast while a rain/snow mix is likely inland.

Until the storm arrives, Arctic air remains firmly in place with several cities in Ontario setting new record lows on New Year’s Day including -22.6 C at Toronto Pearson Airport and -28.6 C at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier Airport.

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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.

Polar vortex sinks south

The coldest blast of air so far this autumn is impacting much of North America this week bringing snow and icy temperatures to the middle of the continent.

Thanks to a monster storm in Alaska producing 15-metre waves, the polar vortex has sunk south with the Prairies struggling to reach highs of -10 C and snow moving into the American Midwest.

Colder temperatures are in store for Southeast New Brunswick later this week according to Environment Canada with highs barely above freezing under mostly clear skies.

Gonzalo gives Newfoundland a fast punch

Police car wades through street flooding in St. John’s, NL, 19 Oct 2014 (CP)

Hurricane Gonzalo passed about 50 km south of Cape Race, Newfoundland as a Category 1 storm near dawn this morning.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre noted strong winds gusting up to 100 km/h were reported at Cape Race with higher gusts in the Grand Banks which created 5-12 metre waves along the Atlantic coast.

Flash flooding was reported across the Avalon Peninsula with 50-60 mm of rain falling in St. John’s over just a few hours.

The fast moving Gonzalo, which passed directly over Bermuda on Friday as a Category 4 storm, is now a post-tropical system heading toward the United Kingdom.

Ophelia races over Newfoundland

Belloram, NL on Fortune Bay, 03 Oct 2011 (RCMP)

Eastern Newfoundland took a lashing from Ophelia this morning but by the time she arrived, the storm had been downgraded to a tropical storm.

At Cape Race on the Avalon Peninsula, a wind gust of 98 km/h was recorded.

Rain fell at a rate of 20 mm per hour which caused flooding and forced some evacuations including the community of Belloram on Fortune Bay.

Waves were powerful too with some buoys registering peak wave heights of up to 22 metres around the Grand Banks.