That's been the case for several days across Atlantic Canada, but the weather has not been the same everywhere - far from it.
Let's back up to Monday and that powerful storm that blew through. It left 30 cm of snow over parts of northern New Brunswick, 30 mm of rain across Nova Scotia, 40 cm of snow in Stephenville, N.L, but “it” never left! The weather maker - come wind generator - is in retrograde.
Retrograde is defined as the movement of a weather system in a direction opposite to that of the basic flow in which it is embedded, usually referring to a closed low or a longwave trough that moves westward.
A retrograding low is most likely to occur when the upper-level steering winds are weak, often because of a weak jet stream displaced closer to the pole. This lack of steering not only contributes to retrograde motion, but it can also result in pressure systems that move slowly or stall for several days.
The system will spin across Newfoundland before exiting into the Labrador Sea late Sunday. Good riddance!
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Cindy Day is the chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network
