Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings issued in the Maritimes

CTV Atlantic meteorologist Kalin Mitchell tracks Thursday thunderstorms then has the details of a cooler Friday forecast.

The combination of daytime heating, cooler air aloft, and cold front from the west is going to trigger some pop-up showers and thunderstorms in the Maritimes Thursday afternoon and evening.

As of 2:30 p.m., Environment Canada had issued severe thunderstorm watches and warnings for parts of southern New Brunswick, Prince County, P.E.I., and severe thunderstorm warnings in Nova Scotia’s Colchester County and Pictou County.

The watch cautions that conditions are favourable for the development of thunderstorms, which could produce damaging wind gusts, large hail, and heavy rain Thursday afternoon and early evening.

The warning cautions the thunderstorm could result in damage to roofs, fences, soft shelters and trees, as well as flash flooding.

Be aware and diligent as the situation with thunderstorms can change quickly. Watches and warnings are likely to change frequently as the thunderstorms develop and move through.

If a severe thunderstorm warning is issued for your area, it means that a particularly dangerous thunderstorm is imminent or occurring. In that case, if there is adverse weather in your area, you should seek shelter indoors and wait it out.

The area at risk of thunderstorms on Thursday extends beyond southern New Brunswick. Northern parts of that province, Prince Edward Island, and even Nova Scotia could see isolated thunderstorms develop and move through.

The period of risk of thunderstorms will extend into the mid-evening before the loss of daytime heating will allow for conditions in the atmosphere to become more stable, preventing more thunderstorms from developing and weakening those that may be ongoing.

No thunderstorms are expected on Friday. Instead, it will be a cooler and blustery June day for the Maritimes. High temperatures in the mid-to-high teens are expected, with a northwest wind gusting 30 to 50 km/h.

The latest watches and warnings can always be found online.