Watches and warnings are starting to be issued as hurricane Fiona approaches the Maritimes.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre issued a tropical storm watch Thursday afternoon for much of New Brunswick, including:
- Acadian Peninsula
- Bathurst and Chaleur Region
- Campbellton and Restigouche County
- Fundy National Park
- Grand Lake and Queens County
- Grand Manan and Coastal Charlotte County
- Kent County
- Kouchibouguac National Park
- Miramichi and area
- Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick
- Mount Carleton – Renous Highway
- Oromocto and Sunbury County
- Saint John and County
- Stanley – Doaktown – Blackville Area
- Sussex – Kennebecasis Valley and Kings County
In a briefing at 1 p.m., the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Fiona was 1,800 kilometres south-southwest of Halifax and remained a category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds at 215 kilometres per hour.
The storm was moving north-northeast at 25 kilometres per hour.
Meteorologist Bob Robichaud says Fiona is forecast to make landfall early Saturday anywhere from eastern mainland Nova Scotia to Cape Breton before moving into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and affecting parts of eastern Quebec and Newfoundland as well.
He says a trough of low pressure from the west will merge with the storm and it will become a hurricane-force post-tropical cyclone.
The trough will bring heavy rain to our region on Thursday, with more rain on Saturday directly from Fiona.
A rainfall warning has been issued for Moncton and the Southeast and Fundy National Park with 50 to 70 mm expected with local amounts possible reaching 100 mm.
The highest rainfall amounts could range from 100-150 mm over eastern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with up to about 200 mm in some areas.
Tropical storm force winds of possibly 60 gusting to 90 km/h over exposed areas are likely in New Brunswick while eastern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island will likely receive gusts exceeding 100 km/h possibly up to 130 km/h.
Robichaud adds the strong winds are expected to create high waves and coastal flooding, not only in Nova Scotia, but also for the Northumberland Strait affecting Southeast New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Forecasters say the tropical storm watch will be upgraded to a warning for most regions on Thursday night as the storm gets closer.
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