Hurricane watches issued for southwestern Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick as Lee draws near

Residents of western Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick are being warned to prepare for power outages and localized flooding as the hurricane Lee is anticipated to transform into a powerful post-tropical storm by the time it makes landfall on Saturday.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax issued a tropical cyclone statement this morning saying Lee’s track could carry the storm through an area anywhere between New Brunswick’s Grand Manan Island and Nova Scotia’s Shelburne County on Saturday night.

The center has repeatedly emphasized that even though Lee is expected to transition from a Category 1 hurricane to a post-tropical storm, it will continue to pose a hazard because it will intensify and expand.

Environment Canada has issued hurricane advisories for the counties of Digby, Queens, Shelburne, and Yarmouth in southwestern Nova Scotia, where winds of up to 120 kilometers per hour could gust.

In addition, a hurricane watch remains in effect for Grand Manan and the southern coast of Charlotte County in New Brunswick, where winds could reach 120 kilometers per hour across the Bay of Fundy.

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Residents of Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast and New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy are also warned that significantly higher water levels could cause localized flooding and hazardous waves.

Four to six meters of breaking seas are anticipated along the Atlantic coast. Additionally, rough seas are anticipated in the Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Maine, and southwest Maritimes marine district.

This morning, the Category 2 hurricane was 430 kilometers southwest of Bermuda, generating winds of 155 kilometers per hour. Even though the storm will lose much of its intensity as it travels over cooler water to the north, by the time it reaches the Maritimes, its strong winds and heavy rain will be felt up to 300 kilometers from its center.

Consequently, tropical storm warnings have been issued for the western half of Nova Scotia and the southern portion of New Brunswick, including Saint John County, Fundy National Park, and Moncton. These areas, which extend as far east as Halifax, could experience sustained winds of 60 kilometers per hour and surges of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

Today, a distinct weather system is already dumping rain over much of the region in advance of the storm.

“These bands are notoriously difficult to predict, but it is important to understand there is a flooding risk with these bands well before the arrival of Lee,” the centre’s statement said. “These complex effects are indirectly related to the hurricane. Additional rainfall from Lee itself could exacerbate the risk of flooding.”

A severe thunderstorm watch was issued for the Halifax region early in the afternoon.

Meteorologists say the threat of heavy rain from Lee has shifted to western Nova Scotia, central New Brunswick, Quebec’s Gaspé region, and the province’s Lower North Shore due to the latest changes in Lee’s predicted trajectory.

Rainfall totals exceeding 100 millimeters are probable, particularly in areas to the storm’s left.