Messy storm set for the Maritimes on Thursday

An incoming storm will bring a messy mix to the Maritimes on Thursday.

The Colorado Low, a type of weather system that originates from Colorado, will impact travel as it brings in snow, ice pellets, freezing rain, rain and gusty winds for Thursday and into Thursday night.

The heaviest snowfall is looking set for New Brunswick where widespread amounts of 15 to 25 centimetres are on the way for central and northern areas.

Further south, the snowfall will be lower, however there may be a prolonged period of three to six hours of ice pellets and freezing rain.

As of now, there's still some disagreement on which form of icing will be more dominant.

Ice pellets are problematic and do make for tricky travel conditions. However, freezing rain can be far more impactful as it leads to an icy coating on surfaces and can lead to power outages, especially when the winds kick up.

Southeast winds are likely to gust from 50 to more than 70 km/h across most of Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and along New Brunswick's Fundy coast. Stronger gusts in the 70 to more than 90 km/h range look possible for Cape Breton. Les Suetes winds will be even stronger.

In terms of timing, the snow is set to begin on Thursday morning for western Nova Scotia and most of New Brunswick, before spreading eastward during the afternoon.

That snow will mix to ice pellets and freezing rain across western and central Nova Scotia, as well as southern New Brunswick throughout the afternoon hours. Eastern Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton, and P.E.I. will see a mix over to ice throughout the evening and into Thursday night.

There will also be a mix to rain and drizzle across most of Nova Scotia on Thursday evening as temperatures rise into the low to mid-single digits.

The system will depart, with colder temperatures and brighter skies on the way for Friday.

Another storm looks set to threaten the Maritimes on Sunday. As of now, that also appears set to bring a mix of snow, ice, rain and wind.