This is the current conditions weather report for Moncton. The report was made 23 minutes ago, at 09:00 UTC. The wind was blowing at a speed of 24.1 kilometers per hour / 15 miles per hour from the southwest (230°). The temperature was 25°C / 77°F, with a dew-point at 25°C / 77°F. The temperature felt like 26°C / 79°F. The atmospheric pressure was 1018 hPa / 30.03 inHg. The relative humidity was 54%. The skies were partly cloudy.
Moncton is the second largest city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick and lies at the centre of the fastest growing urban region in the province. Its metropolitan area includes the neighbouring city of Dieppe and the town of Riverview, as well as adjacent areas of Westmorland and Albert Counties.
The Moncton area has several major attractions:
Champlain Place - With over 160 stores and services, it is the largest mall in Atlantic Canada
Crystal Palace - An indoor amusement park with rides such as a rollercoaster and a Tivoli swing; located adjacent to Champlain Place. The facility also includes a hotel, restaurant, eight cinema multiplex and a Chapters bookstore/Starbucks Cafe.
Tidal bore - A phenomenon created by the extreme tides of the Bay of Fundy which actually reverses the downstream flow of the Petitcodiac River. A causeway built across the river to Riverview in the 1960s has significantly diminished the effects of the bore. Efforts are underway to have the causeway replaced by a bridge in order to restore the river flow, however there is a great amount of opposition from land owners on the "Lake" or western side of the causeway.
Magnetic Hill - An optical illusion created by local topography, is also the site of a major tourism development, including the nationally recognized Magnetic Hill Zoo and a water theme park called Magic Mountain. Magnetic Hill also features a major outdoor concert site. Pope John Paul II held a papal mass there in 1984. The Rolling Stones held a concert there on the 3rd of September, 2005 before 85,000 fans. While major concerts have been held at the facility intermittently over the last 10-12 years, the city now hopes to hold one or two megaconcerts at the facility every year, especially since the infrastructure at the site was upgraded considerably for the Stones concert. This would allow the city to recoup the major cost of these infrastructure improvements.
Moncton is well situated as a tourism destination. There are two national parks (Fundy National Park and Kouchibouguac National Park) within a one hour drive of the city. The warm water beaches of the Northumberland Strait are only 15 minutes away at Parlee Beach in nearby Shediac and New Brunswick's signature natural attraction (the Hopewell Rocks) are only a half hour's drive down the Petitcodiac river valley. The Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island is only a one hour's drive east of the city.
Moncton is home to two universities: Université de Moncton, the largest French language university in Canada outside of Quebec,and Atlantic Baptist University, a small Christian liberal arts and science institution. In addition, the University of New Brunswick Moncton Campus offers health sciences degree courses in Nursing and Medical X-ray Technology based out of the Moncton Hospital. Finally, Mount Allison University, one of Canada's top ranked undergraduate universities, is located only 25 minutes away in the nearby town of Sackville.
There are two campuses of the New Brunswick Community College located in the metropolitan area.