Laura remnants uniting with 2nd system to bring wind, rain to Maritimes

The weather system that used to be Hurricane Laura will sweep through the Maritimes this weekend.

Laura caused devastation in Louisiana and Texas and is spawning tornadoes in other parts of the southern U.S.

It will be much milder when it hits the Maritimes, says CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland.

"An approaching storm system now over the Great Lakes could see some enhancement from the remnants of what once was Hurricane Laura as it passes to our south.

"A cold front associated with this more garden-variety storm system could tap into some of Laura's tropical moisture late Saturday into Sunday. This means that heavier rain is possible for the Maritimes. At the moment, it looks like much of the region could see rainfall amounts from 15-30 mm, but locally higher amounts are possible, particularly for southern and coastal areas of Nova Scotia where amounts may exceed 40-50 mm."

Scotland cautions that these are just projections based on the latest forecast model guidance and could change as the storm approaches.

"Gusty winds should also be expected with southeasterly gusts from 30-60 km/h possible for coastal New Brunswick, P.E.I. and much of mainland Nova Scotia Saturday night into Sunday. Parts of Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast and Cape Breton could see gusts from 60-80 km/h or higher during this time. Another round of gusty northwest winds can also be expected as the system moves out over the Gulf towards Newfoundland Sunday night into Monday."

On Friday afternoon, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for all parts of Nova Scotia, "particularly the tri-county region and areas along the Atlantic Coast." The statement said rainfall starting Saturday night could reach 60 millimetres in some areas of the province, but otherwise would be 30 to 40 millimetres.

It has been windier than usual on P.E.I. much of this week, at times causing power outages and restrictions to travel on the Confederation Bridge.

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