Although a powerful East Coast storm failed to reach official ‘weather bomb’ status, the arrival of the strengthening cold front brought the strongest wind gusts of 2024 to parts of Newfoundland.
Winds in St John’s clocked in at 105 km/h Friday morning. The previous peak wind gust to beat this year was 102 km/h on Jan. 19.
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Wind warnings remained in place Friday morning, with the strongest gusts expected in areas exposed to the southeast.
“Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur,” says Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in the warning. “High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break. Utility outages may occur.”
The gusts will diminish throughout the day as the front moves offshore, with snowfall totals of 5-10 cm expected across western Newfoundland.
SEE ALSO: Rain, rain, go away: St. John’s records its all-time wettest November
Blizzard possible in Labrador
Folks across Labrador should gear up for potential blizzard conditions through the day Friday.
Heavy snowfall rates will range from 2-5+ cm per hour during the peak of the storm, and the combination of heavy snowfall rates and very strong winds will create blizzard conditions at times.
Forecasters expect just about all population centres in Labrador to pick up 10-20 cm of snow from this system, with locally higher totals possible. Higher drifts are likely as a result of the blustery conditions.
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Much milder air will spread into the region early next week, along with two significant low-pressure systems. The storm tracks and impacts are still uncertain, but primarily rain appears to be most likely for most areas. Above-seasonal temperatures are expected to dominate during mid-December.
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