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Spring snowstorm grips Atlantic Canada
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Click on the photo for a look at the wintery weather across Atlantic Canada
Sana Ahmed, staff writer
April 2, 2011 — A storm system will continue to blast parts of Atlantic Canada with rain and snow through the weekend.
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Expected areas of rainfall
Mother Nature is having the last laugh. A wintery storm that moved into Atlantic Canada on April Fools' was hardly a joke.
The low pressure system began to affect the Maritimes on Friday afternoon, bringing rain, wind and heavy snow to the area.
The Weather Network's Maritime reporter, Shelley Steeves caught up with some residents who were unimpressed with the wintery conditions.
“It's terrible! It's April 1st. This stuff is supposed to be over and done with,” said a disgruntled Monctonian.
By Friday night, roads had already deteriorated significantly in Moncton.
“Roads are horrible,” said Steeves. “Wet snow is packing down to a sheet of ice. Traffic is moving at a crawl.”
In Nova Scotia, both snow and rain mixed with ice pellets to create a treacherous situation on the roads. The icy conditions are believed to have been a factor in a three-vehicle crash near Barney's River Friday night that left a woman dead and injured two other people.
The severe weather also caused widespread power outages in New Brunswick. Thousands of customers were still in the dark on Saturday, according to NB Power.
“Large amounts of heavy, wet snow and high winds have caused trees to come down on the lines and have made restoration efforts challenging,” the utility said in a statement. “Our crews will continue to work to restore power to our customers.”
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Heavy snowfall expected in Atlantic Canada
The rain and snow tapered in the Maritimes through the overnight hours, but not before more than 10 cm accumulated in Fredericton, St. Stephen and Caraquet.
Northwesterly winds behind the system will continue to generate some light sea effect snow for parts of the Maritimes on Saturday, but the worst of the system is pushing east into Newfoundland.
“Some of the affected areas in Newfoundland will see blizzard-like conditions Saturday morning,” says Rob Davis, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.
The Avalon Peninsula will see mostly rain, but more significant snowfalls are expected for northwestern Newfoundland.
That area could also see significant sea effect snow throughout the weekend as the storm departs, Davis says.
The same storm system that's walloping Atlantic Canada has been causing problems south of the border as well. Parts of Florida were under severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings on Thursday and damaging winds knocked down trees and power lines in Tampa Bay.
Large hail that pelted the area left crews at NASA's Kennedy Space Center double checking for possible damage to the shuttle Endeavour. The shuttle is getting ready for a launch in April.
For more details on what you can expect you can tune in to The Weather Network on TV, where your National Forecast comes up at the top and bottom of every hour.
With files from Andrea Stockton, Lyndsay Morrison and the Canadian Press
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