Wednesday temperatures approach records in the Maritimes

The Dartmouth Commons in October 2023 is pictured. (Source: Sean Mott/CTV News Atlantic)

A warming southwest wind is pushing temperatures well above averages for early November in the Maritimes. It doesn’t last long, though, as cooler conditions return through the end of the week and into the weekend.

High temperature records for a Nov. 6

Here are lists of the standing record high temperatures in the Maritimes for a Nov. 6, along with the year set:

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

As you can see, they are quite warm, ranging 19-to-25 degrees, with most records set in 2022. Temperatures just after noon on Wednesday reached a range of 17-to-21 degrees for many communities in the Maritimes. While it’s unlikely to see most of the previous records broken, it is certainly possible temperatures Wednesday could approach or exceed those records for a few communities.

Cold front and cooling temperatures

A cold front associated with an area of low pressure moving through Labrador will cross the Maritimes Wednesday night.

The front will change the wind direction to the northwest, which will usher cooler air out of northern Quebec towards the Maritimes Thursday and Friday. A second cold front will drop temperatures another few degrees for the weekend.

It will be seasonably cool for Thursday and Friday. High temperatures will range six-to-10 degrees for much of the Maritimes. Southwestern New Brunswick and Atlantic coastal Nova Scotia will be a touch milder with high temperatures 10-to-14 degrees.

Hurricane Rafael

Hurricane Rafael was approaching a landfall in western Cuba on the coastal area just south of San Cristobal Wednesday afternoon as a category-two hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 175 km/h.

Western Cuba is under a Hurricane Warning with hazards including storm surge, damaging winds, destructive waves, and flooding rain that could total between 200 and 300 mm for some areas.

Rafael may strengthen to a category-three hurricane as it emerges from Cuba over the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday evening. From there it is currently forecast to weaken to a category-one hurricane over the central Gulf of Mexico on Friday. The Gulf States will have to monitor the progress of the storm through the weekend for potential impacts.

There is no risk of the storm to the Maritimes in the long-range forecast.