Face of Nation : Some Atlantic Canadians woke up to a light breeze and the odd raindrop on Saturday morning, but residents are bracing for the impact of what is now a strong Category 1 hurricane. Hurricane Dorian is barrelling toward the region with winds of 140 km/h and gusts of up to 165 km/h.
Most of Atlantic Canada is under a combination of weather warnings:
Hurricane, tropical storm and rainfall warnings for much of Nova Scotia; Rainfall warnings for New Brunswick; Rainfall, wind, storm surge and tropical storm warnings for P.E.I.; And hurricane, tropical storm and wind warnings for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Environment Canada is warning of flooding along the coast due to storm surges and pounding surf. The Halifax Regional Municipality called for residents who live along the shoreline in some areas to leave their homes.
“We’ve seen some really significant impacts with storms that were weaker than this one,” said meteorologist Bob Robichaud. “So, widespread trees being uprooted, broken trees, lots of roof damage, all those sorts of impacts which also include potential for prolonged power outages are all very likely at this point.” As the storm headed northeast toward the region on Saturday morning, it was moving at 41 km/h — the fastest it has travelled since it formed, said Simpkin.
Simpkin said the eyewall of the hurricane is expected to hit somewhere between Lunenburg, N.S., and Sheet Harbour this afternoon around suppertime, and Robichaud said landfall is likely to occur near or just to the east of Halifax.
By mid-morning, the storm was starting to be felt in southwestern Nova Scotia, with winds already gusting to 90 km/h, or what Environment Canada calls “warning criteria.”
Ahead of the system, showers will pick up in intensity. Rain will become heavy at times this morning over mainland Nova Scotia with a risk of a thunderstorm.
It will spread across Nova Scotia today, with 100 to 150 millimetres expected over western areas, and 200 millimetres possible in some local areas. Over central and northwestern parts of the province, 60 to 120 millimetres are expected.
Winds will be strong throughout the mainland, with speeds of 40 km/h gusting to 60 km/h this morning, and increasing gusts up to 120 km/h later in the day. Gusts along the coast could reach 150 km/h. In Cape Breton, winds will be 70 km/h gusting to 110 km/h, with gusts of up to 130 km/h along the coast.
