The province’s Emergency Measures Organization will be closely watching water levels in rivers and lakes as 100 millimetres of rain is expected to hit southwest New Brunswick in the next few days.

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning that stretches across southern New Brunswick.

Karl Wilmot, an official with the provincial government’s River Watch program, said no problems are expected for the St. John River itself. But he said there could be high water in some tributaries.

"If something happens, it's going to be of a localized nature where drainage systems may not be able to take it, because they reflect changes in water coming into the system much more quickly and in a much more drastic fashion than you would along the main St John, which takes time to fill up,” he said.

Wilmot said anyone living in low-lying areas should pay close attention to water levels until the current rain ends sometime late Tuesday.

Northern schools closed

Two school districts in northern New Brunswick have closed schools on Monday because of freezing rain.

School Districts 5 and 15, which cover anglophone and francophone schools in the Bathurst, Campbellton and Dahousie areas, were closed on Monday.

Environment Canada has issued severe weather warnings for communities across northern New Brunswick.

Northwestern New Brunswick is expected to see snow, ice pellets and freezing rain on Monday morning. The precipitation is expected to switch to rain by noon.

Freezing rain may also spread to northeastern New Brunswick.

However, the majority of the precipitation will fall in an extended period of ice pellets, according to Environment Canada.

Environment Canada has also issued rainfall warnings for communities in southern New Brunswick.

Grand Manan and other coastal communities are being warned to expect as much as 100 millimetres of rain by Tuesday morning.