Fall storm expected to arrive in the Maritimes on Saturday

It's going to be a stormy Saturday in the Maritimes.

A coastal system moving up the Eastern Seaboard will combine with a cold front coming out of the west, resulting in a strong fall storm for the region.

The storm will ramp up throughout the day on Saturday, with the heaviest rain and strongest winds set for late Saturday afternoon through Saturday night. The storm will depart early Sunday. 

The heavy rainfall and greatest risk of downpours will be across Nova Scotia, southeastern New Brunswick and P.E.I. where widespread amounts of 40 millimetres to 70 millimetres of rain look likely. Local amounts could reach 100 millimetres, especially near the Atlantic coastline.

While this amount of rain is normally something we can handle, many storm drains, catch basins and downspouts are clogged with leaves right now. You may want to take a few minutes to be sure that the rain falling on your property Saturday has a clear exit route. 

The other factor will be the strong winds, bringing the potential for some power outages. That said, many trees have already shed their leaves and those still hanging on will blow off more easily than they would a month ago, which should limit outages.

The strongest winds from this storm will be from the southeast and will likely gust from 70 km/h to 90 km/h late Saturday and Saturday night. There are indications that areas of eastern mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton could see gusts topping 100 km/h on Saturday night, especially along exposed areas of the coast and during Les Suetes winds in Cape Breton. 

The strong winds will also bring the possibility of elevated water levels near high tide late Saturday night and early Sunday morning along the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia.

With cold air wrapping into this storm, snow will certainly be in the mix for New Brunswick.

The best chance for accumulating snowfall will be in northern New Brunswick where amounts of five centimetres to 10 centimetres are possible through Saturday night. 

As the system departs and the temperatures drop, the rain may switch to snow in southern New Brunswick on Saturday night. Folks travelling early Sunday morning across New Brunswick should prepare for some potentially slick travel conditions.

Some outdoor events scheduled for Saturday have been postponed because of the anticipated stormy weather. The Christmas Parade in Amherst, N.S., has been rescheduled to Sunday. The Saltwire Parade of Lights has been rescheduled to Nov. 25.