Building warmth in Atlantic Canada this week will be dictated by wind
Fresh off a chilly end to April and a below seasonal Mother's Day weekend, a warming trend will be felt across much of Atlantic Canada this week.
A strengthening ridge of high-pressure in the jet stream extending from parts of southern and central U.S. through eastern Canada, and a surface area of high-pressure southeast of Newfoundland is responsible for the warming.
That is allowing for plenty of sunshine today with temperatures of 14 C to 21 C across the region, except 7 C to 14 C for locations that experience an onshore wind.
Temperatures will continue to warm mid-week, ranging from the mid-to-high teens into the low-to-mid 20s, and the potential for some high 20s in parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick heading into the weekend.
Wind direction is crucial in this warmth, so locations experiencing an onshore wind will not be nearly as warm or will cool off into the weekend.
In terms of precipitation during this period, a low-pressure system is stalled between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras thanks to this high-pressure. It's close enough that some outer bands of energy could arrive in the form of broken showers into parts of the Maritimes Wednesday, greatest chances over Nova Scotia.
Meantime, a low-pressure system north of the ridge will exit the Hudson Strait, and the extending cold front will cross Atlantic Canada and bring a chance of showers Wednesday night and Thursday, this time mainly for Newfoundland and Labrador.
We will dry out as surface high-pressure returns but still cannot rule out chances for precipitation heading into the weekend from weak frontal boundaries extending across the ridge.