Incoming storm to bring significant rain then rapid freeze to Nova Scotia

An incoming storm system is going to bring rain, followed by an icy mess, to Nova Scotia.

The system, which is still developing across the U.S. Plains, will arrive in the province on Friday afternoon, tracking in from west to east.

While we may see a few flakes of snow and some patchy freezing rain on the northern edge of the storm on Friday morning and afternoon, this will primarily be a rainmaker for Nova Scotia, with some significant totals likely on Friday night and into Saturday.

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for most of the province. 

Western areas are on tap to see rainfall totals in the range of 15 to 30 millimetres, with higher totals ranging from 30 to 50 millimetres looking most likely for southern and eastern regions of the province, including the South Shore, Halifax, Truro, Pictou, Antigonish, Eastern Shore and Cape Breton regions. Local amounts could exceed 50 millimetres in some areas.

Unfortunately, the most significant rain will be falling on areas which were hit hardest by the snow earlier this month.

The southerly winds will also be howling with this system, with widespread gusts in the 50 to 60 km/h range, and stronger 70 to 80 km/h gusts possible for eastern areas on Friday night and early Saturday. As the southerly winds bump temperatures into the mid single digits, further snow melt will follow.

Officials from Cape Breton Regional Municipality and Halifax Regional Municipality say flooding is a concern heading into the weekend. If you can, prepare your property ahead of time by making sure the rain and melting snow has an exit route.

Rapid freeze

As the system departs on Saturday, the winds will shift to the northwest and temperatures will plummet below freezing throughout the late afternoon and evening hours. This will quickly turn any standing water and slush into ice. Be extra cautious if you are travelling late Saturday or early on Sunday as untreated surfaces will be icy. 

Temperatures will remain below the freezing mark on Sunday afternoon, which means the ice will be sticking around.

As the storm departs and temperatures drop, we will also see the rain mix to a period of freezing rain, then ice pellets, and then snow across most of the province.

While uncertainty remains, it appears near five to 10 cm of accumulation is a possible for the Northumberland Shore and into Cape Breton, with locally higher amounts possible.

Some good news is, temperatures are expected to rise again by the middle of next week as we say goodbye to February.

In fact, there's strong agreement that Nova Scotia will see warmer-than-average temperatures for the first week of March.