Florence called a ‘monster’

More than two million residents have been evacuated as Hurricane Florence roars toward the Southeastern United States with sustained winds of more than 175 km/h.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the Category 2 storm is taking aim at North and South Carolina on Thursday.

A life threatening storm surge is expected along the Atlantic coast with an incredible 800 mm (30 inches) rain possible.

Emergency officials call Florence “a monster” and cities like Myrtle Beach have become eerily empty as the hurricane approaches.

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Chris brushes eastern Newfoundland

Post-tropical storm Chris quickly moved across eastern Newfoundland late Thursday and early Friday with powerful winds, heavy rainfall and rough surf along the coast.

Gander recorded almost 80 mm of rain (almost a month’s worth), the southern Avalon Peninsula had high water swells of 6 to 8 metres above normal while Bonavista and Cape Pine recorded wind gusts above 100 km/h.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre issued its final bulletin for Chris early Friday as the storm sped off into the North Atlantic.

Snow in late May!!!

While a snowflake or two is common in early May in New Brunswick, accumulating snow is rare in the latter part of the month.

A cold front pushed through the province today and with a change in wind direction from south to north, precipitation changed from rain to snow and the thermometer plummeted.

Bathurst and Miramichi both reported snow today and in some areas it began to stick to the ground while thunderstorms rolled through further south.

In Greater Moncton, the temperature drop was dramatic with a high of 16 C at 11am and by 4pm it was only 5 C.

Meantime, parts of central Newfoundland are under a snowfall warning with 15 to 30 cm in the forecast.

Strong winds cause destruction in Eastern Canada

Tree falls near school bus in Mississauga, Ontario, 04 May 2018 (Twitter/Peel Regional Police)

A rapidly deepening low pressure system created strong winds gusting to hurricane-strength across Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec on Friday knocking down trees and power lines causing massive outages.

Three people were killed by fallen trees and a school bus filled with children in Mississauga had a near miss.

Toronto Pearson Airport had a maximum wind gust of 119 km/h while Montreal Trudeau Airport recorded 117 km/h – both are the windiest days ever in May.

Winds were also powerful on Saturday in Greater Moncton with a wind gust of 100 km/h – the strongest since January.

Nor’easter number four!

Moncton’s west end after the latest Nor’easter, 23 March 2018 (Dearing)

It seems a bit strange the largest single snowfall this winter in Greater Moncton actually occurred on the second full day of spring.

Environment Canada says Southeast New Brunswick hit the snow jackpot from the fourth Nor’easter this month with more than 30 cm recorded.

A storm on 30 January was the previous snowfall event winner with almost 25 cm.

Strong winds were also a factor in this storm gusting at times to 82 km/h.

Here are some other snowfall totals:

• Kentville, NS  24 cm
• Alma, NB  20 cm
• Yarmouth, NS  18 cm
• Sussex, NB  17 cm
• Charlottetown, PEI  12 cm
• Halifax Stanfield Airport, NS  11 cm
• Bathurst, NB  8 cm
• Saint John, NB  6 cm

Strike number 3!

Wet, heavy snow in NE Moncton, 14 March 2018 (Dearing)

The third Nor’easter in a week to strike Southeast New Brunswick packed less punch than the other two despite predictions it would be the strongest.

Temperatures remained near freezing in Greater Moncton during the snowfall which made it extremely heavy and wet and strong winds gusted to 85 km/h.

The western and northeastern parts of the province were hardest hit from this storm.

Snowfall totals as of 9pm ADT, 14 March:

• Miramichi  46 cm
• Bathurst  40 cm
• Fredericton  38 cm
• Saint John  27 cm
• Greater Moncton  16 cm
• Halifax Stanfield Airport  12 cm
• Charlottetown  5 cm

Peak wind gusts:

• Grand Etang  146 km/h
• Lunenburg  104 km/h
• Sydney  85 km/h
• Halifax Stanfield  83 km/h

January all-time highs!

Extremely warm temps across the #Maritimes today, up to an astounding 19°C in #Greenwood & #Cheticamp! Never been that warm in January for all those in red! #Moncton #NSstorm #MeteoNB #PEstorm pic.twitter.com/phJ12pEfMF

— Patrick Duplessis (@Pat_wx) January 13, 2018

Before a cold front swept through the Maritimes, all-time record January highs were set across the region yesterday including 16.7 C at Greater Moncton International Airport.

New Brunswick’s all-time January high was set in Sussex at 17.3 C, narrowly beating the previous provincial record of 17.2 C in Moncton from 08 January 1930.

Nova Scotia’s all-time January record was set yesterday in Greenwood at 19.0 C followed closely by Cheticamp at 18.9 C while on Prince Edward Island, Summerside hit a new monthly high of 13.8 C and St. Peters reached a provincial high of 17.8 C.

Environment Canada says while the latest storm delivered almost 28 mm of rain in Moncton, more than a month’s worth fell in Mechanic Settlement at 128 mm and Bouctouche at 98 mm.

The peak wind gust was clocked in Saint John at 96 km/h.

Greater Moncton spared worst of storm

Powerful storm surge causes flooding along the waterfront in Halifax, NS, 05 Jan 2018 (Twitter)

The ‘bomb cyclone’ or ‘snow hurricane’ – featuring a dramatic drop in atmospheric pressure when warm and cold air collided – has left the Maritimes and spared Southeast New Brunswick from the worst of its fury.

While strong winds were a factor throughout the region, Greater Moncton received less snow compared to further north and west.

To the south and east, more rain fell along with hurricane-force winds (up to 200 km/h gusts in western Cape Breton) which created powerful storm surges causing flooding along the coast.

Here are some totals from Environment Canada and local estimates:

• Greater Moncton Airport  14 cm snow, 10 mm rain, 91 km/h wind gust
• Bathurst  58 cm snow, 80 km/h wind gust
• Fredericton  30 cm snow, 78 km/h wind gust
• Saint John  5 cm snow, 20 mm rain, 87 km/h wind gust
• Halifax Stanfield Airport  40 mm rain, trace snow, 122 km/h wind gust

The storm may have departed but Arctic air has filtered back into the Maritimes which will mean a bitterly cold weekend.

Sunny, cold Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day 2017 at Sunny Brae cenotaph in Moncton, 11 Nov 2017 (Dearing)

Remembrance Day 2017 was sunny but cold in Greater Moncton.

At 11am, the temperature was near freezing and it was dry with a westerly wind gusting at times to 40 km/h.

Despite the raw wind, it actually seemed warmer this year since in 2016 it was cloudy with a bone-chilling light rain.

Fierce fall storm hits Eastern Canada

Certains résidents de Val-des-Monts complètement isolés le long de la route du Carrefour #policemrc #vdm pic.twitter.com/68RzFrnCkh

— PoliceMRCdesCollines (@Police_MRC) October 30, 2017

An intense low pressure system which absorbed the remnants of Tropical Storm Philippe unleashed its fury on Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes after racing through the Northeastern United States.

Environment Canada reports more than 100 mm of rain (a month’s worth) fell in Ottawa turning some streets into rivers in the National Capital (2017 is now its wettest year ever) and neighbouring Gatineau.

Strong winds gusted to 93 km/h at Ile d’Orleans with rainfall amounts of up to 90 mm across Southern Quebec.

Western New Brunswick felt the brunt of this storm in the Maritimes while Greater Moncton recorded 25 mm of rain and a peak wind gust of 69 km/h.