Region braces for slow-moving nor’easter

System sparks slew of snow, rain, wind and storm surge warnings

The gales of November will come slashing across the Atlantic region.

A slow-moving nor’easter will bring winds of up to 110 kilometres an hour to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, while New Brunswick will get less of the wind but lots of snow.

“New Brunswick is in the snow belt of this, it’s not covered by wind warnings just yet,” said Cindy Day, chief meteorologist for the SaltWire Network. “New Brunswick will be on the cold side of the system so they’ll get 20 to 30 centimetres (from) Miramichi down to Moncton.”

The nor’easter, which grew more powerful after stalling over the Gulf of Maine for the past day, has spawned about 40 watches and warnings across the Atlantic region, Day said.

Environment Canada has issued winter storm warnings for P.E.I. and inland areas of eastern Cape Breton, which will bear the brunt of the wind and snow. Up to 25 centimetres of snow is forecast for P.E.I. and as much as 60 centimetres could fall on the Cape Breton Highlands.

Heavy rainfall warnings have been issued across Cape Breton with up to 70 millimetres expected to fall in coastal areas.

The complicated snow-rain mix of this system will remain mostly white in northern Nova Scotia. Up to 25 centimetres is forecast for Cumberland, Colchester and Pictou counties.

Unlike storms that come with rapid drops in barometric pressure, known as weather bombs, it’s the slow-moving nature of this storm that will increase its impact.

“The problem with the winds, they’re going to be damaging because they’re going to be so sustained,” Day said. “I would see the wind picking up to close to 100 by midnight (Wednesday) and then continuing to be gusting to 100 by noon tomorrow. By then shingles start to loosen, branches break and tumble. So the fact that system is not moving quickly, that those strong winds will stay with us for at least 12 hours or beyond, it’s going to make it a dangerous system for everybody.”

Winter storm warnings are also in place in the Avalon and Burin peninsulas of Newfoundland, where up to 25 centimetres of snow are forecast and gusts of up to 110 km/h will whip the coastline.

“Oftentimes it’s the west coast, Corner Brook, getting all the snow (in Newfoundland) but this time . . . the northeast and east-facing coastlines will get the powerful storm surge and will get the more significant snowfall,” Day said.

Storm surge warnings also have been issued for eastern for the east-facing coastlines of Nova Scotia, where waves could hit heights of 10 metres off Louisbourg and Canso in the early hours of this morning.