Maritime weather bringing rain, strong wind, some snow

A powerful nor'easter continues to track toward Cape Cod and will be bringing stormy weather across the Maritimes tonight, Wednesday and into Thursday morning. Here is the latest:

Nova Scotia

Rain will begin in the in Digby, Yarmouth and Shelburne counties later this evening. The rain becomes steady and heavy across the Annapolis Valley and South Shore of Nova Scotia through Wednesday morning.

At the same time, bands of lighter rain will spill over the rest of mainland Nova Scotia with a chance of showers in Cape Breton.

The main area of rain will reach the Halifax Regional Municipality and Hants, Cumberland and Colchester counties by Wednesday evening. From there, it will move up the Eastern and North shores and into Cape Breton late Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Rain totals will be highest in the Annapolis Valley and South Shore, with totals of 60 mm to 100 mm in my forecast.

Hants, Cumberland and Colchester counties — as well as the Halifax area and much of the Eastern Shore — will see rain totals of 40 mm to 60 mm.

Only parts of the North Shore and Cape Breton are likely to see lower totals of 20 mm to 40 mm.

There will be some thunderstorms and winds will become strong and gusty out of the east on Wednesday.

Gusts of 70 km/h to 90 km/h are expected, with stronger gusts of more than 100 km/h in Inverness County, due to the topography of the Cape Breton Highlands.

New Brunswick

The wintry mix of weather begins to work its way across New Brunswick this evening.

After midnight, rain will fall across the south of New Brunswick, a mix of snow and freezing rain from St. Stephen to Fredericton to Kouchibouguac National Park, and snow north of the area bordered by Woodstock and Miramichi.

By mid-morning on Wednesday, the freezing rain will push north of the area bordered by Woodstock and Miramichi, with areas south of that line in heavy rain.

The snow in northern New Brunswick will mix heavily with ice pellets, freezing rain and rain moving into Wednesday evening. The mixed weather carries into Thursday morning before it begins to ease.

Most of New Brunswick will see rainfall totals of 60 mm to 100 mm, hitting frozen ground. This will increase the chances of seeing localized and even flash flooding.

North of the Woodstock and Miramichi regions, snow and ice pellets will accumulate to 20 cm to 40 cm.

Winds will be strong and gusty from the east through Wednesday — gusts of 70 km/h to 90 km/h along parts of the coastline with inland gusts of 50 km/h to 70 km/h.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island will have a chance of showers this evening with rain beginning after midnight. The rain doesn't become heavy until the morning hours on Wednesday.

The rain will be steadiest and heaviest in Prince County, where total accumulations may reach 60 mm to 100 mm. In Queens County, rainfall amounts should be in the range of 40 mm to 60 mm and Kings County will see totals of 20 mm to 40 mm.

Winds from the east will steadily increase through the day with gusts of 70 km/h to 90 km/h around parts of the coast by late Wednesday afternoon and evening.

The rainy and windy weather continues into Thursday morning before beginning to ease.

Time to clear drainage

My advice would be to make sure the drainage around your property is clear. Ensure any holiday decorations are secured and anything that is loose or liable to be damaged in the winds should be taken indoors.

Be careful on the roads in the inclement weather and remember that standing water can be deceptively deep and should not be driven into.

With the gusty winds — and icy weather in New Brunswick — power outages are a possibility.

I will have more updates on Facebook, Twitter and on the evening news.