Wet, windy weekend in store for much of Nova Scotia

A slow-moving area of low pressure will move north from the eastern U.S. into the St. Lawrence River Valley this weekend.

As the fronts from this system push over the Eastern Seaboard, they will act as a conveyor belt, bringing moisture from the sub-tropical Atlantic into the Maritimes in the form of rain and downpours this weekend.

Rain will develop in Nova Scotia on Friday evening and night for the mainland and Saturday morning for Cape Breton.

Downpours within the rain will arrive in southwestern Nova Scotia by Saturday afternoon, slowly spreading across the mainland Saturday night into Sunday morning. 

40-60 mm for much of Nova Scotia

In the downpours, local rainfall amounts will reach a range of 40 to 60 millimetres for most of the southwest and Atlantic coastline of the province by the end of Sunday.

The Annapolis Valley as well as north and northeastern Nova Scotia may end up sheltered from the heaviest downpours, but can still expect general amounts of 20 to 40 millimetres.

Cape Breton will likely have rainfall amounts of 20 to 40 millimetres by the end of Sunday, but with more rain to come on Monday which could bump those amounts into the range of 40 to 60 millimetres.

Winds will be high and gusty with the rain on Saturday. Expect southeast gusts of 50 to 70 km/h for the province with the exception of gusts to 100 km/h in Inverness County due to the topography of the Highlands. A Les Suetes wind warning has been issued for that part of the province.

Clear your drainage systems

Some localized flooding issues may develop for parts of the province this weekend. Be sure to check that drainage systems are clear of spring debris and if you have a sump pump that it is in working order.

Working in our favour is that April precipitation was below normal, so river and lake levels generally aren't near flooding levels and the ground isn't saturated.

That's in contrast to areas of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, where more saturated conditions and higher river and lake levels could lead to much larger flood issues as they are impacted by this same system.

Due to a stalled pattern in the jet stream, the outlook for next week is for prolonged periods of cloudy skies along with passing rounds of rain and showers.