March storm brings snow, rain and wind to the Maritimes

A March storm hit the Maritimes Tuesday, bringing heavy precipitation and strong winds.

As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, there were 2,996 Nova Scotia Power customers without electricity. Earlier in the night there were 7,401 customers without power. The power utility has listed high wind and snow as causes. Some customers may need to wait until Wednesday morning for restoration.

Periods of snow mixing with rain developed in the west and spread eastward during the day. Up to 25 centimetres of snow is expected in some parts of the Maritimes. 

The snow will mix with showers initially in most locations as the temperatures rise to near or above freezing. It won't take long for the mix to make the transition to snow inland.

At the same time, the winds will increase as well, first in the west.

Easterly winds are expected to gust over 90 km/h along the coast of Yarmouth and Shelburne counties in Nova Scotia, as well as the coastline of Charlotte county in New Brunswick.

While the winds are gusting, rain mixing with snow is expected along the coast but snow will fall inland.

The temperatures will continue to rise along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, as well as parts of the Fundy coast of both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 

This will limit the snowfall totals on the coast, but inland is a different story.

The snow will begin to push into Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Tuesday evening and the winds will pick up in these regions as well.

Environment Canada has issued snowfall warnings for most of Cape Breton and Guysborough County, with 15-25 centimetres expected. Victoria County in Cape Breton is under a winter storm warning and could see more than 25 centimetres, according to the national forecaster. 

Wednesday morning, the warm air will push into mainland Nova Scotia. Meanwhile, the colder air will hang tight over Cape Breton, New Brunswick, P.E.I. Snow will continue to accumulate.

Although the precipitation will begin to wind down in the morning, there's still a lot of storm yet to come. A return of the cold air will change the precipitation back over to snow as the winds become northerly.

Keep in mind areas along the coast will stay warmer longer and that will limit the snowfall totals, but winds will be a threat, especially along the coast where the snowfall totals will not be as great.