Rain Tonight, Wind Tuesday, and Snow for Labrador’s Hills
Rain arrived in central and western Newfoundland this afternoon, and it’s already heavy in places like Buchans and Corner Brook. The webcam in Corner Brook shows wet roads. Eastern Newfoundland stays dry a little longer, but the heavy rain moves in overnight.
It’s all tied to a large low over Quebec that’s in no hurry. It will take until Wednesday to drift off the coast of Labrador, bringing rain, wind and even some snow.
Warnings in effect (as of about 4 p.m.)
- Rainfall warning, Avalon Peninsula southeast: up to 50 mm by Tuesday morning. It may be expanded, since parts of eastern and central Newfoundland could get close to that.
- Wind warning, Bay St. George: gusts up to 100 km/h tonight.
- Wreckhouse wind warning: southeast gusts up to 110 km/h, ending late this evening or overnight.
Wind
It won’t be extreme, but you’ll notice it, especially Tuesday afternoon and evening in the west and southwest.
- Port aux Basques: gusts near 62 km/h at noon, climbing to 70–80 in the evening in parts of western and southwestern Newfoundland.
- Elsewhere on the island: 40–60 km/h is common through Tuesday.
- Coast of Labrador: strong winds develop early Wednesday morning, with local gusts of 60–80 km/h. Makkovik gusts near 73 km/h at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
- Wednesday morning on the island: Fleur de Lys gusts near 78 km/h and St. John’s around 46 km/h, with gusts of 40–60 km/h across the island through the day.
Rain through noon Wednesday
- Labrador: a widespread 25–50 mm, with some of it falling as wet snow over higher ground.
- Eastern third of Newfoundland: 15–25 mm, locally 25–30, and up to 50 mm over the southern Avalon. This isn’t a widespread heavy rain event for the island.
- Western Newfoundland: onshore showers bring heavy rain to the higher terrain Tuesday into Wednesday. A few weeks from now, that would be snow.
- Thundershowers: possible late tonight into Tuesday morning on the Burin and Avalon peninsulas. I’ll be watching that closely.
Snow in Labrador
The models show pockets of up to 30 cm over the high terrain Tuesday into Wednesday. Most of that is in the hills, not in town.
- Lab West: Wabush and Labrador City look too warm for much, maybe a couple of centimetres. The hills around town will likely turn white by Wednesday morning.
- Churchill Falls: under 2 cm in the valley.
- The coast: Hopedale and Nain see little snow, with more over the higher ground inland.
Wet flakes could fall in Churchill Falls and Wabush on Tuesday as cooler air gets pulled in behind the low, but I don’t expect much to stick.
Timing
- Tonight: a second low forms and starts to strengthen.
- By 6 a.m. Tuesday: rain over the Burin and the Avalon, heavy rain in eastern and southeastern Labrador, and mixed rain and snow in interior and western Labrador.
- Tuesday evening: showers spread over western Newfoundland. The air aloft is cold while the ocean is still warm, which strengthens the showers.
- Wednesday: the low pulls away. Lab West improves first and the Labrador coast slowly follows. Newfoundland sees a big improvement, though it stays cool and breezy.
Temperatures
- Tonight: lows of 2 to 11°C.
- Tuesday: on the mild side for Newfoundland, with showers and cloud after the morning rain in the east and maybe a few late-day sunny breaks. Labrador is cooler: 6° in Nain, and 4° in Churchill Falls and Labrador City.
- Newfoundland, rest of the week: mid-teens Thursday through Saturday, a bit cooler Sunday and Monday. Western Newfoundland dips to the upper single digits by Saturday.
- Labrador, rest of the week: Lab West reaches about 4° Thursday with rain and snow showers, has more rain and snow Friday, and turns cooler for the weekend. Goose Bay stays fairly mild.
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