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.

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 70 km/h across most of Nova Scotia. Stronger gusts in the 70 to 80 km/h range look likely for Cape Breton. Les Suetes winds will gust up to 130 km/h in Inverness County, north of Mabou.

The snow is set to begin on Thursday morning for western Nova Scotia before spreading eastward. The snow is set to begin midday for central areas, including Halifax and then move into eastern areas throughout the afternoon.

That snow will mix to ice pellets and freezing rain across western and central Nova Scotia throughout the afternoon hours. This will lead to slick and messy driving conditions for the afternoon commute. Eastern Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton, will see a mix over to ice throughout the evening and into Thursday night.

The icy mess will 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 brighter skies on Friday, however very gusty northwest winds will usher much colder temperatures into Nova Scotia.

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.