Beneficial rains to help douse East Coast's parched, fire-risk conditions
With Hurricane Erin in the rearview mirror, forecasters are to looking to an incoming bout of notable, beneficial rainfall for parts of the dry Atlantic provinces this week
Notable rainfall is expected to spill into parts of Atlantic Canada early this week, but it won't be from any tropical system.
The much-needed precipitation will be beneficial to help ease drought and wildfire concerns. On the heels of an already severe drought, August has brought another stretch of unusually dry weather across Eastern Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada.
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A soaking rain, and even locally heavy amounts, are expected for parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland this week. Parts of the region will see 25-50+mm of beneficial rainfall.
Much-needed rainfall is coming this week
A large, low-pressure system will track into Labrador with widespread and substantial rain.
A front extending south from the low will be associated with rain and possible thunderstorms, while a system with subtropical moisture off the Eastern Seaboard will also track along the front and into the region on Monday--delivering much-needed rain to the Maritimes.
Newfoundland will start to see the rain on Tuesday.
While rainfall totals aren’t expected to be extreme, it won’t be the only shot of rain this week as another system will follow later on. But parts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland could see 25-50+mm of rainfall by the time it's finished.
While Fernand stays well offshore and outside of Canadian waters, its track is helping to push the system heading to Atlantic Canada a little more inland.
This is welcome news for communities facing extreme fire danger and those that have been battling active wildfires, as even modest amounts of rain will help ease the parched conditions.
The rain is desperately needed in these regions where summer rain has significantly lacked, with current status of moderate to severe drought.
The start of the month was the driest in more than a decade for St. John’s, N.L., and the overall dry trend has continued through August.
As of Aug. 23, St. John’s has gone 21 days without measurable rain (less than 0.2 mm), matching the total in Fredericton, N.B., while Halifax, N.S., has tallied 18 dry days.
After the front tracks to the east of the region midweek, the rest of the week and weekend should be mostly dry, and temperatures are expected to be within a few degrees of seasonal.
Stay tuned to The Weather Network for the latest forecast updates.