Cool Down Arrives For The Weekend, And Snow Is In The Forecast!
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A cold front will sweep through Newfoundland and Labrador between tonight and midday Friday, bringing a round of rain and showers before noticeably cooler air settles in for the weekend.
Rain will be heavy at times this evening and overnight across western Newfoundland, while southeastern Labrador also sees periods of rain. By early Friday morning, a fairly narrow band of rain will stretch from areas around Fogo Island and Twillingate south toward Fortune Bay and the Connaigre Peninsula before continuing east.
For the Avalon, Friday actually starts out pretty well. The morning should be mainly dry with some sunshine before showers arrive closer to midday. Even then, they won’t last long. Most of the shower activity should be finished by around 2 or 3 PM, with skies clearing again later in the afternoon and evening.
Winds will also be a little gusty as the front moves through. Southern, southeastern and eastern Newfoundland could see gusts around 40 to 60 km/h Friday morning. Behind the front, winds turn more westerly and generally ease into the 30 to 50 km/h range for much of Friday afternoon and evening.
The bigger change comes behind the front. Saturday will be cooler across Newfoundland, with highs generally around 10°C to 12°C. Sunday looks cooler again, with many areas only reaching 8°C or 9°C. There will be scattered showers around both days, but this does not look like a washout.
In Labrador, colder air becomes much more established. Rain showers and flurries are possible Saturday before snow develops across Labrador West Sunday afternoon and evening. And unlike some of the snow we’ve already seen this fall, this one has a better chance of accumulating.
First accumulating snow of the season?
A low is expected to track southeast across the region between Sunday and Monday. Cold air on the north side of that system should be sufficient for much of the precipitation in Labrador West to fall as snow, including at lower elevations. At this point, around 5 to 10 cm looks possible from Labrador City and Wabush toward Churchill Falls between Sunday evening and Monday morning.
Western Newfoundland is a little different. Most lower elevations should remain too warm for meaningful snowfall, but the higher terrain of the Long Range Mountains could also pick up around 5 to 10 cm. Communities along the coast from Port Saunders toward Cow Head are not currently expected to see much accumulation, if any.
The exact track of the low will matter. A farther north track would allow the colder air to push farther south and could increase the snow potential. For now, though, the best chance for accumulating snow remains Labrador West and the higher terrain of western Newfoundland.
Once the cooler air arrives, it looks like it may stick around for a while. There is no major warm-up showing up next week, and Labrador could see additional opportunities for flurries and rain showers through the middle of the week.
Hurricane Isaias heads toward the Gulf Coast
Farther south, Hurricane Isaias has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane and is expected to turn north before making landfall along the northern Gulf Coast. The current forecast brings the centre toward the Florida Panhandle, Alabama or Mississippi, although impacts will extend well outside the exact track.
Heavy rain, damaging winds, storm surge and severe weather will all be concerns. Some areas could receive more than 100 mm of rain before the system accelerates north through the southeastern United States.
For Newfoundland and Labrador, though, the immediate story is the cold front moving through Friday, followed by a much cooler weekend and our best chance yet at the first accumulating snow of the season.
