‘A decent snowfall:’ P.E.I.’s first storm system of the year likely to bring snowy, wet conditions

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Excessive winds and the primary main snowfall of the season are anticipated on Tuesday throughout sections of P.E.I. 

Setting Canada issued climate alerts for Prince, Queens and Kings counties on Dec. 12, warning a storm system at present on observe to go over the province on Dec. 13 might convey as much as 20 centimetres of snow, heavy surf and wind gusts of as much as 80 kilometres per hour. 

SaltWire Community’s climate specialist Allister Aalders stated a storm system like this may be anticipated this time of 12 months.

“I don’t assume folks want to fret an excessive amount of. That stated, there hasn’t actually been a significant snowstorm, and I discover the primary main snowstorm of the season can catch folks off guard,” stated Aalders in an interview on Dec. 12.  

The low-pressure system transferring in from the west will develop over P.E.I. in a single day. 

Snow is anticipated to start out over western P.E.I. Tuesday afternoon. This may later flip into heavier moist snow because the centre of the storm passes over Prince County, which might combine and switch into rain. Comparable situations are anticipated throughout the province, with visibility probably remaining poor all through the day. 

“Heavy, moist snow does convey danger of energy outages. That’s one thing we have to probably be ready for,” Aalders stated.

“It’ll be a good snowfall for the Island, however there’ll probably be extra extreme storm later within the season.” – Allister Aalders

What makes this storm system distinctive is the way in which it’s rotating in reverse from east to west, as a consequence of a blocking low-pressure entrance that has been coming down from Greenland in latest weeks. 

Because the storm strikes additional north, the blocking entrance will trigger the storm to retrograde and reverse course, transferring into western New Brunswick earlier than dying off Wednesday afternoon. 

Earlier climate predictions made by the UPEI Local weather Lab and Setting Canada have each indicated the province will see above-average temperatures all through the winter months. This doesn’t imply the province will see much less snowfall, as hotter situations can generally result in heavy precipitation. 

“It’ll be a good snowfall for the Island, however there’ll probably be extra extreme storms later within the season,” stated Aalders. 

Preparations are being made throughout the province to cope with energy outages, which usually tend to happen in wetter winter situations, stated Kim Griffin, spokesperson for Maritime Electrical throughout an interview with SaltWire Community on Dec. 12. 

“If the timber get a heavy layer of snow, that would come down on our strains once more,” stated Griffin. “I’m certain it’s inflicting a variety of concern from our clients proper now.”

Hundreds of timber stay compromised throughout the province as a consequence of injury from post-tropical storm Fiona. This might result in extra outages than a typical winter storm, and Maritime Electrical is responding by having all its crews on standby and by putting contractors in inns nearer to rural areas to reply quicker. 

“Our crews can be out, if wanted, as quickly because it’s secure to take action and we get the climate they’re promising,” stated Griffin. “It actually will depend on the kind of snow we get. If the snow doesn’t stick, it doesn’t grow to be a lot of a difficulty.” 

That stated, Maritime Electrical is watching the storm intently to see if any main adjustments happen, she added.   

“The primary storm of the 12 months may be very impactful for folks. We made certain our crews and autos are on standby and we ought to be OK.” 

Rafe Wright is a Native Journalism Initiative reporter, a place coated by the federal authorities. He writes about local weather change points for the SaltWire Community in Prince Edward Island and may be reached by electronic mail at [email protected] and adopted on Twitter @wright542.