A series of winter storm warnings are in effect for most of eastern Newfoundland on Monday.
Environment Canada meteorologist Justin Boudreau said about 30 to 40 centimeters of snow could fall over the northwest areas of the Avalon Peninsula, Clarenville, Bonavista Peninsula and Burin Peninsula on Monday, beginning overnight and continuing through Wednesday.
“It will start tonight in most areas with generally overnight snow and that will continue for most of Tuesday,” Boudreau said.
“For the Avalon Peninsula, that’s going to change to some sort of mix of ice pellets — ice pellets and snow — for most areas, but in the Southeast it’s likely to be more of a mix of freezing rain and rain.”
Boudreau said the Burin Peninsula and southern Avalon Peninsula are likely to see the weather system first around midnight.
The bad weather is expected to hit the St. John’s area between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday.
Wind speeds are expected to start between 60 and 70 km/h from the east before switching to the northeast.
“We’re seeing the maximum gusts for most areas around 80 km/h and for southern Avalon where the winds are blowing from the NE they get a bit of a local effect there so they’re probably going to get up to 100 in some of those areas km/h,” said Boudreau.
“Visibility will be pretty poor for most areas.”
Areas that are switching to ice pellets won’t escape the storm for very long.
Boudreau said the weather will worsen again Tuesday night as the ice pellets switch back to snow.
“The winds may not be quite as strong. It could rather be a gust of up to 70km/h lasting all night Tuesday. That’s still enough to cause snow and poor visibility,” he said.
The weather system is expected to come out around noon on Wednesday.
Rethinking Valentine’s Day
With the messy weather set to make driving conditions miserable, Environment Canada is proposing postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve, which could impact Valentine’s Day plans for some.
Kristýna Adamová, owner of Newfoundland Floral Design, was busy on Monday preparing orders so customers could pick up their flowers before the storm.
“I would say it’s definitely the busiest time of year for our industry. Everyone is working really, really hard and it’s kind of a last-minute purchase,” Adamová said on Monday.
A snowstorm on Valentine’s Day also disrupted business last year.
Adamová said she is ready for her clients after learning a lesson a year ago.
“We’re prepared, so I’m calm. I’m happy, it’s going to be fine,” she said.
“We’re open later than usual. I would say 7 or 8 p.m. We are open on Valentine’s Day.”
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