Heightened flood risk as wintry mess hits the East Coast, disrupting travel

Forecast Centre

Tue, March 18, 2026 at 9:57 a.m. GMT+9·2 min read

After a battering parts of the Deep South with deadly tornadoes, a potent system is hitting parts of the East Coast with a barrage of wintry weather.

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The northern branch of that same U.S. storm has pushed into the region with some rain and wintry weather as it pulls in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

Monday featured persistent rain in New Brunswick, and warm, cloudy weather in Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Newfoundland. As a result, the threat for localized flooding has been raised. Come Tuesday, heavy rain will eventually transition to freezing rain and snow, so travel will see more interruptions. Plan ahead if you're venturing out on the roads.

Rain will change to snow and ice in the Maritimes

Slow-moving rain will spread into Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island by Monday overnight.

Atlantic Canada precipitation timing forecast Tuesday afternoon

As the rain slowly moves in through the overnight hours on Monday, we'll start to see heavy rains around the Bay of Fundy area. The heaviest of the rain will likely be Tuesday morning.

Widespread rainfall totals of 20-30 mm are in the forecast through central New Brunswick, with totals of 30-50 mm possible down the road toward Saint John. The heavy rainfall could lead to a localized flood risk for some communities.

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Atlantic Canada forecast rainfall accumulation Monday-Tuesday - March 17, 2026

Cold air surging south will force a wintry mix to develop across northern New Brunswick on Tuesday.

We'll see a burst of snow and several hours of freezing rain develop Tuesday morning, lingering throughout the day.

Up to 2-5 mm of ice buildup is possible on cold surfaces, with Moncton and Sackville, N.B., the north shores of Nova Scotia, and P.E.I. being the most at risk from the ice.