It will be the first big storm of the season for our region, and Environment Canada says it is one that should not be taken lightly.
The snow is expected to start at around noon in the Moncton area, with the heaviest amounts falling mid afternoon to evening.
Meteorologist Jean-Marc Couturier says that will come with high winds, “Very windy conditions, especially late this afternoon, gusting to 90 kilometres an hour, and they are coming from the Northeast. With those strong winds, there is going to be reduced visibilities, whiteout conditions and very difficult transportation wise from the afternoon into the evening.”
The high winds will also cause concerns for those living near water, due to a high surf conditions.
Between 30 to 40 centimetres of snow is expected to fall.
Couturier says what is going to make this storm even more interesting, is a switch to ice pellets and rain overnight, “After the snow, we are expecting freezing rain and ice pellets during the evening Eventually the temperature will pass the freezing mark and we will go to 5 degrees, which means rain. There’s 10 millimetres of rain in the forecast as well, that is going to make for a mess on the roadways come morning.”
Currently, the Moncton region is underway a winter storm warning, but other parts of the province are also under heavy rainfall warnings as well.
If you were planning to fly out of the Greater Moncton Romeo Leblanc International Airport, or if someone is flying in, most of the flights have already been cancelled in advance of today’s storm.
Power outages are a possibility today, under heavy wet snow. If your power goes out, and you choose to use a generator, make sure you use it safely. Never run the generator inside a home or garage, because this can result in carbon monoxide poisoning. This gas is colourless, and odourless. It’s advised you always have a carbon monoxide detector in your home as well.
