'Landmark' Hurricane Fiona picking up speed as it barrels toward Newfoundland's south coast
CBC
Hurricane Fiona's centre will brush western Bermuda on Thursday as a Category 4 storm as it churns toward Atlantic Canada, where what Environment Canada is calling a potentially "landmark" storm is expected to make landfall.
CBC meteorologist Ashley Brauweiler says winds from the storm are gusting to 260 km/h. Fiona will directly strike Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and parts of Prince Edward Island on Friday with winds blowing more than 150 km/h.
"But after that then there's a bit of discrepancy in the models, whether it heads a little bit closer towards southwestern Newfoundland or it continues to track north towards Labrador," Brauweiler said Thursday.
"It's a very far-reaching storm," she said.
The strongest and worst impact in Newfoundland will be felt along the west and southwest coast of the island on Saturday.
"Port aux Basques through to the Burgeo area, you may be seeing those gusts in excess of 110 [km/h] to as much as 130, maybe even a little bit more than that," she said, adding winds will blow from the southwest, with higher gusts in the Wreckhouse area.
Brauweiler said there will be strong winds along the southwest coast for about 12 hours — from 7 a.m. NT Saturday through to the evening.
Rain should begin Friday before the storm itself hits, and Brauweiler said more than 100 millimetres of rain could fall on the southwest coast between Friday and Saturday.
Elsewhere, though, the rain won't be significant, she said. The Avalon Peninsula can expect anywhere from just a trace to five millimetres, but winds in the region will gust between 60 and 80 kilometres per hour, and blow even higher in exposed areas.
Twelve-metre waves and high surf are also expected along the southwestern coast on Saturday.
Brauweiler is urging people across the province to be prepared, put away lawn chairs and any loose items on their properties, and have emergency kits on hand.
"Always prepare for the worst and hope for the best," she said
On Thursday morning, the Canadian Hurricane Centre tweeted a map of Fiona's projected track north, showing it starting to weaken Friday, while maintaining hurricane-force winds.
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