A wild winter storm continues to bring heavy snowfall, rain and blustery winds in parts of Atlantic Canada on Sunday.
In particular, the worst of this storm is focused on Newfoundland, with some hazardous conditions expected across parts of the Maritimes. Blizzard conditions are possible for some areas as the wind-whipped snow continues through Sunday night.
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Power outages are escalating in Newfoundland, thanks to the powerful wind gusts, with thousands on the island in the dark, according to Newfoundland Power.
St. John’s, N.L., has already recorded some notable wind gusts. It documented a 115 km/h gust on Sunday morning, making it the community’s windiest day since March 13, 2022 (117 km/h).
This rapidly deepening low-pressure system will likely qualify as a bomb cyclone, or a weather bomb, which means its minimum central pressure will drop at least 24 mb within 24 hours.
Sunday:
Folks around central and western Newfoundland will see snow continue through the day Sunday, with heavy precipitation rates expected. Milder temperatures may cause some mixing or just rain to fall in portions of central Newfoundland.
Across the Gulf, snow will also fall throughout Prince Edward Island and the northern shores of Nova Scotia into the day Sunday.
Widespread gusty winds will pose a major hazard as this low sweeps through the region. 80-100 km/h wind gusts peak Sunday morning. Expect gusty conditions to persist into Sunday before finally easing by Sunday night. Some coastal sections of eastern Newfoundland could see gusts up to 115 km/h.
Power outages are likely to escalate and fluctuate during the storm, as a result of the high winds blowing through the region. The latest outages can be found on Newfoundland Power’s website.
High waves are also expected on Sunday for the eastern and northern shores of Newfoundland.
“These large waves can cause coastal erosion in vulnerable areas, as well as damage to infrastructure along the shoreline, especially at locations that have been prone to impacts during similar events in the past,” Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said in a coastal flooding warning for eastern Newfoundland.
We’re looking at widespread snowfall totals of 20-40 cm throughout central and western Newfoundland, with locally higher totals possible—especially along the Great Northern Peninsula.
Prince Edward Island can expect 5-20 cm of snow from this system, with the greatest totals across the northern and eastern portions of the island. 20-40 cm of snow is in the forecast for northern Cape Breton.
The Avalon Peninsula is generally on track to see less than 5 cm of snow before the changeover, with 20-40 mm of rain expected for the duration of the storm.
Though the storm will begin weakening late Sunday into Monday, expect blustery and unsettled conditions to linger across Atlantic Canada as this system stalls out into early next week.
Stay tuned to The Weather Network for the latest updates and warnings across Atlantic Canada.