N.S. prepares as Hurricane Lee looks set to make landfall this weekend

Nova Scotia is preparing for the first major storm of the season, as Hurricane Lee barrels toward the Maritimes.

Lee is expected to make landfall on Saturday, but the region should see wind and rain starting Friday night. And with the trees fully leafed, power outages are possible.

"For Yarmouth County, you'll see some impacts late this evening — possibly into mid-evening if this storm does speed up," Bob Robichaud, a senior forecaster with Environment Canada, told reporters during a news briefing on Friday afternoon.

"... Any kinds of preparations should be completed by late this afternoon, early evening at the latest because we are going to start to see some of that rain and winds are gradually going to start to pick up."

Robichaud said the storm will be a "prolonged event," with effects being felt into Sunday for parts of the province.

Nova Scotia Power said it has been preparing for Hurricane Lee all week. Matt Drover, the senior director of energy delivery for Nova Scotia Power, told reporters the company is expecting high winds that could knock down trees. He said Digby, Yarmouth and Shelburne are the most concerning areas, so Nova Scotia Power is "pre-mobilizing" crews and contractors to those locations.

"The majority of people will be down in the western part ready to respond to power outages as soon as they occur," said Drover.

Office of Emergency Management Minister John Lohr said if needed, emergency alerts would be sent out through multiple platforms so more people can see them. This includes TV, mobile phones and radio. Lohr recommended people have a battery-powered radio on hand if the power goes out.

Municipalities across the province have been communicating with residents about the best ways to plan for this weekend's storm.

Environment Canada has issued hurricane watches for parts of southern and central Nova Scotia, including Yarmouth, Shelburne, Queens, Lunenburg, Digby and Halifax counties, alongside the tropical storm, wind and storm-surge warnings and statements already in place.

Shannon Miedema, the director of environment and climate change for Halifax Regional Municipality, said the city has prepared storm kits for those who might not be able to afford emergency supplies.

Miedema said the kits include educational materials about preparing for hurricanes, heat and other extreme weather, with multiple translations for "newcomer communities."

For homemade emergency kits, Miedema said people should make sure to have "the provisions in your home to be OK for at least 72 hours," Miedema said, adding that "lighting and chargers for phones and some non-perishable food" are also key items.

She also said some of the storm preparation dates back to Hurricane Dorian in 2019, when the municipality purchased a refrigerated truck to house residents' frozen food during power outages. Miedema said that the truck has been prepped for this weekend.