Torrential rains, winds expected for Inverness County

Wind gusts to 100 km/h in county as spring storm strikes Atlantic Canada

The eye of a spring storm that inundated large swaths of the country with torrential rain showed no signs of abating Sunday as it set its sights on eastern Nova Scotia.

Cape Breton’s Inverness County was battening down the hatches for Les Suetes winds expected to gust up to 100 km/h into Monday morning.

Environment Canada meteorologist Stephen Fougere said the strong winds will mix with up to 50 millimetres of rain.

Nova Scotia Power spokeswoman Tiffany Chase said in an email that the utility has crews on standby in the region to respond to any outages.

Meanwhile, southwestern Newfoundland was under a wind warning. The Wreckhouse area - known for its extremely high winds - was expected to see gusts up to 120 km/hr before diminishing Monday night.

Parts of Labrador’s Churchill Valley and Upper Lake Melville area were forecast to see heavy rains, which could cause significant snowmelt and runoff over the frozen ground.

The low pressure system has slowly tracked over Ontario and Quebec, causing rising floodwaters and states of emergency in several cities and towns.

Some parts of New Brunswick recorded more than 150 millimetres of rain after a nearly 36 hour non-stop downpour.

A weather station northeast of Saint John measured 155 millimetres of precipitation from late Friday to early Sunday, Fougere said, adding that surrounding areas had up to 125 millimetres.

While the deluge tapered off in the province early Sunday, New Brunswick’s St. John River has spilled its banks, prompting several road closures.

“It’s above flood stage in several areas from Fredericton down south,” said Robert Duguay, a spokesman with the province’s emergency measures organization. “Water levels are going to stay high probably for the rest of the week.”

Duguay said the situation is under control with only minor flooding, but noted it could change quickly with a shift in weather patterns. Waterways remain extremely precarious, he said, and people who get too close are at risk of being swept away by fast-moving water.

“It’s not over,” Duguay said, noting the province is expected to see another 10 to 20 millimetres of rain overnight Sunday. “We continue to monitor the situation.”