Snowstorm heading for the Maritimes Sunday night into Monday

The most significant snowstorm of the season so far is on the way for parts of the Maritimes.

Heavy snow and strong winds are on tap for Nova Scotia, with southern New Brunswick and eastern P.E.I. in line to see some snow and wind as well.

Given this storm is just beginning to develop over the southeastern U.S., some uncertainty remains. A slight shift north or south will have an impact on potential amounts. I plan to update and refine the snowfall map again on Sunday, following the latest runs overnight.

The biggest questions remaining right now are, how far north the heaviest snowfall will track into southern New Brunswick and P.E.I. and whether or not the Atlantic coastline sees some ice pellets mixing in with the snow.

There's also the question of the 30-40 centimetre, or more, potential for Nova Scotia. It's likely there will be some areas of morethan 30 centimetres of snow;however, this system will be racing quickly through the region, which should limit the 40-centimetre-plus potential to localized pockets. That said, I'll be closely watching the latest runs overnight for any changes.

Winds will be a factor with this storm as well. Widespreadgusts of 60-80km/h and coastal gusts that could top 90 km/h across the southern Maritimeswill lead to blowing and drifting on Sunday night and into Monday.

Timeline

That leads us to the timeline. There's actually some solid agreement that the snow will track into southwest Nova Scotia late Sunday afternoon and spread northeast across the region through Sunday evening.

The heaviest snowfall and strongest winds are expected late evening and through the overnight hours. Wind gusts could exceed 80-90 km/h along the Atlantic coast, Northumberland Shore region andCape Breton.

Snow and strong windslook likely to continue into Monday morning for central and eastern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton andP.E.I., with conditions slowly improving throughout the day.

Delays andcancellations on Monday morning are certainly a possibility, however those planning for an extra super Super Bowl Sunday eveningshould be sure and check back forupdates.

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