Two rounds of rain to impact the Maritimes this weekend

A large and complex low pressure system will move up from the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and across the Maritimes this weekend bringing periods of rain and gusty winds.

The rain is expected to arrive in two rounds, with the first round arriving west-to-east Saturday morning into Saturday afternoon.

The second round of rain is expected to arrive Saturday night into Sunday morning, with lingering showers behind the second round persisting into Sunday night and Monday morning.

As of Thursday, Nova Scotia looks like it could pick up the most rain with totals of 40 to 80 mm possible. Prince Edward Island could see a range of 30 to 60 mm with the heaviest rain in eastern parts of the province. Southern New Brunswick could see pockets of rain between 20 and 50 mm. Rain totals near and less than 20 mm are possible in northern and western parts of New Brunswick.

The rain is spread out over a period of 24 to 48 hours which will hopefully reduce the risk of flooding. That said it would be a good idea to check to make sure that drainage on and around property is free of fall debris (i.e. fallen leaves).

The wind on Saturday is expected to be mostly from the east and southeast. Gusts will range from 20 to 50 km/h, but could peak between 50 and 80 km/h for eastern areas of Nova Scotia.

Due to the topography of the Highlands gusts to and over 100 km/h are a risk for northern Inverness County on Saturday.

On Sunday, the wind will change direction to be from the west and northwest. Gusts will be in the range of 20 to 50 km/h. The southwest of Nova Scotia could peak between 50 and 70 km/h Sunday morning, especially on the coast.

Updates on CTV News Atlantic programming and ctvnewsatlantic.ca.