Stormy winter expected in the Maritimes says The Weather Network

Nova Scotians are certainly no strangers to Nor'easters, but we could see more than our fair share this winter.

That's according to The Weather Network's winter forecast.

Meteorologist Brad Rousseau says temperatures should stay above normal in Nova Scotia. The bulk of the cold weather should linger in the middle of Canada, but that, combined with warmer-than-normal ocean water will mean the Maritimes could be in for a stormy winter.

“What happens is when you get the core of the coldest air over the central part of the country, you'll get shots of the cold air that gets along the coast,” he explained. “As that cold air meets the coastal warm waters, that's really the recipe for a lot of these storms.”

Because of that, Rousseau expects above normal precipitation, but the tracks of those storms will determine whether it falls in the form of rain or snow.

“Those that track up the Bay of Fundy tend to bring you guys more rainfall. You could see at the onset of these types of storms, a little bit of snow, a little bit of mix here and there, but for the most part it's rainfall,” he said. 

“The storms that really bring you guys the heavy snowfall are the ones that track just off the coast … those are the ones where you're on the backside of the low, where the cold air is funneling down from the north, and that's when you get your big snowfalls.”

He expects we'll see more rain than snow here in Nova Scotia, but our fellow Maritimers won't be so lucky.

“New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, those regions are going to be right near the edge of where we think the core of the coldest air will be, and because of that given the active storm track for all of Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island could see above normal snowfall.”