Melissa partly to blame for wet, windy Halloween in Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario

HALIFAX – Residents of the Maritimes, Quebec and southern Ontario can expect wet, blustery weather this weekend, but a senior meteorologist says Hurricane Melissa is only partly to blame.

The latest forecasts for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. are calling for 30 to 50 millimetres of rain on Friday, with higher amounts possible in some areas. As well, southeasterly gusts could reach 70 to 80 kilometres per hour across the region, and up to 110 km/h in western Cape Breton, from Margaree Harbour to Bay St. Lawrence.

“There remains some uncertainty as to where the highest rainfall amounts will occur, but the potential exists for significant totals over some locations,” Environment Canada said Wednesday.

“Clear storm drains and gutters of leaves and other debris … to help reduce flooding. Secure outdoor items, including Halloween decorations and garbage bins, to prevent them from being displaced or damaged by strong winds.”

In eastern Quebec, significant amounts of rain combined with strong northeasterly winds are expected on Friday and Saturday.

“The path and intensity of the precipitation (in Quebec) remains uncertain,” Environment Canada says. “The system that will affect Quebec could also be influenced by the remnants of Hurricane Melissa.”

Meanwhile, the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax says a large, low-pressure system is expected to move over the northeastern United States, where it will draw in tropical moisture from Hurricane Melissa as the storm moves northward into Canadian waters.

That low-pressure area is expected to bring gusty winds as far west as southern Ontario. 

As well, rainfall amounts in Atlantic Canada could increase “to some degree,” Environment Canada meteorologist Chris Fogarty said in a tropical cyclone statement issued Wednesday. 

“It will be a wet and windy Halloween and start to the weekend for many, and for the most part, all that weather will not be from the hurricane,” Fogarty wrote.

The statement says Melissa’s wind circulation is expected to remain offshore, but recent weather models suggest the storm may track closer to eastern Newfoundland than initially forecast. Forgarty said some forecast models are predicting the centre of what will likely be post-Tropical Storm Melissa will track close to or over eastern Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula on Saturday.

“So that scenario is also a possibility, which would bring some extra wind there,” the statement says. “We will certainly update the forecasts if that changes.”

In the Caribbean, Hurricane Melissa left a trail of destruction after lashing Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica. The storm made landfall Tuesday in Jamaica as a Category 5 hurricane, with winds reaching 298 km/h. 

In Haiti, at least 25 people have died due to flooding in Petit-Goâve. In Cuba, officials reported collapsed houses and blocked roads, with 735,000 people in shelters. And Jamaica experienced widespread power outages and communication blackouts. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2025.

— With files from The Associated Press