A massive winter storm that has reached the Maritimes is being described as a "weather bomb." The leading edge of the storm arrived in southwestern Nova Scotia at around 10 a.m. AT on Thursday, bringing rain. That will quickly change to snow with ice pellets then back to rain this evening. CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland says conditions will deteriorate very quickly through this afternoon with strong winds being the main concern. Most of the region will see gusts of between 80 km/h and 120 km/h but the Cape Breton highlands could get gusts of up to 170 km/h. Winds that high mean widespread power outages. As of 1:15 a.m. AT, there were about 17,000 Nova Scotia power customers affected by outages. Though temperatures will be around zero or above during the storm, a polar vortex is expected to plunge temperatures into the minus teens during the weekend. About 158,000 Nova Scotia Power customers lost power in a Christmas Day windstorm and had to endure, in some cases, days of frigid temperatures without heat. 'Weather bomb'Scotland said the storm dropped 35 millibars in roughly 12 hours from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, easily meeting the requirement for bombogenesis, as it's known. The fast drop in barometric pressure — a fall of 24 millibars in 24 hours — is known as "bombing out," producing a "weather bomb."  The storm's position as of 1:30 p.m. AT on Thursday. (Environment Canada)
Scotland said the eye of the storm is still off the U.S. East Coast. The eye is on track to reach southwest Nova Scotia late this evening. It will then cross the Bay of Fundy into southern New Brunswick and onto P.E.I. overnight before exiting the Maritimes into the Gulf of St. Lawrence tomorrow morning. The storm will then move on to Newfoundland and Labrador. Schools and businesses are closed and flights and ferries are cancelled across the Maritimes on Canada's East Coast as the leading edge of the storm arrived along Nova Scotia's southwestern shore near 10 a.m. AT. The entire provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Islandare under winter storm warnings, while Nova Scotia is set to receive the full range of winter weather: snow, rain, wind and storm surges. Trying to reach VancouverAlmost all flights were cancelled at airports in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island with several cancellations and delays at St. John's International Airport. Alia Parsons and her daughter Sophie Parsons were trying to fly out to Vancouver to visit her grandfather who is ill. "We're trying to get there for a visit, and not a funeral." Parsons left Saint John, N.B., earlier Thursday morning to fly from Halifax to Vancouver, via Montreal. The morning flight to Montreal for the next leg of the journey has now been delayed until 3 p.m.  Alia Parsons and her daughter, Sophie Parsons, are hoping to make it to Vancouver in time to see her dying grandfather. (Shaina Luck/CBC)
Parsons said she's anxious. "It is really important. My grandpa is dying, so we're hoping just to get there so we can see and talk to him before he passes." She said she had intended to travel to Vancouver on Jan. 10, but her grandfather's condition worsened and she bumped up the trip. "We just want to get there." Snowfall and rain amountsThere will be a lull in the winds overnight with gusts of about 70 km/h before the winds pick up again Friday morning, says CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell. At that point, winds will change direction and gust, once again, in the 80 to 100 km/h range for eastern areas of P.E.I. and in the 100 to 120 km/h range for Cape Breton. Winds gusting to around 70 km/h will remain across much of mainland Nova Scotia throughout Friday afternoon. According to Mitchell, heavy snow will start in the afternoon in Nova Scotia then mix with ice pellets and rain later in the afternoon and evening with about 10 centimetres expected inland and two to 10 centimetres near the coast. After the snow, those areas will see between 10 and 20 millimetres of rain. Wind gusts are expected to reach 80 to 100 km/h this afternoon across the province with gusts up to 170 km/h for parts of the Cape Breton highlands.  A man is shown at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Thursday, where more than 40 flight departures and arrivals have been cancelled. (Shaina Luck/CBC)
Environment Canada is expecting the storm to bring between 25 and 45 centimetres of snow to New Brunswick. Strong winds will also be gusting up to 90 km/h. There is also a rainfall warning along the Bay of Fundy coastline with 20 to 30 millimetres forecasted. P.E.I. may get up to 25 centimetres of snow before changing over to rain this evening, according to Environment Canada. Easterly winds gusting to 90 km/h are forecast later this afternoon and evening with gusts to 110 km/h possible over parts of the coast. A period of strong southwesterly winds are possible Friday morning as the low moves north of the Island. | 
發表於 2018-1-4 10:59
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