MONTREAL – One of the strongest storms ever to hit Canada slammed into the coast of Nova Scotia early Saturday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.
Former Hurricane Fiona made landfall Saturday morning in Guysborough County in the northeastern corner of mainland Nova Scotia, the Weather Service of Canada said. There were maximum sustained winds of nearly 81 mph, while maximum gusts of more than 100 mph were detected, he added.
It is the storm with the lowest land pressure on record in Canada, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre, which also described hurricane-force gusts hitting the area. More than 40% of Nova Scotia’s population is affected by power outages, according to Nova Scotia Power. “We are seeing significant impacts from the storm, including uprooted trees, broken poles and downed power lines across the province,” the utility added.
Previously a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center stated that Fiona transformed into a post-tropical cyclone as it headed north, showing characteristics of storms with both tropical and high-latitude pedigrees.
Regardless of its technical designation, forecasters warned that the storm would be a huge success.
“This storm will be a severe event for Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec,” the Canadian Hurricane Center wrote Friday. The federal agency previously said the storm had the potential to become “historic” and “a historic weather event.”
The storm was expected to be so severe that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau late on Friday postponed a visit to Japan, where he had planned to attend Shinzo Abe’s funeral.
Hurricane warnings cover most of Nova Scotia, as well as Prince Edward Island and western Newfoundland, where forecasters are predicting 3 to 6 inches of rain, with up to 10 inches in some areas, and hurricane force winds of at least 74 mph. Tropical storm warnings extend from New Brunswick to eastern Quebec to northern Newfoundland, where rainfall could reach 5 inches and winds of at least 39 mph.
The center also predicted a sizable ocean surge, or a storm-driven surge of water over normally dry land, causing coastal flooding. He predicted “rough, strong surf” with waves of up to 26 to 40 feet (8 to 12 meters).
As Fiona looks to Nova Scotia, a look at Canada’s past strongest storms
Before the storm’s arrival, Nova Scotia, home to a million people, was bracing for the worst on Friday.
Nova Scotia Power warned of widespread power outages, with trees still in full bloom and relatively soft ground, and activated its emergency operations centre. And the outages could be long-lasting, as crews will wait for winds to calm before repairs can safely begin, said Dave Pickles, the company’s chief operating officer.
Fiona, which caused devastating flooding in Puerto Rico and knocked out power across the island, is the latest sign of an Atlantic hurricane season that started slowly but has suddenly kicked into gear . The storm is one of five systems forecasters are watching in the Atlantic basin, including one that organized into Tropical Storm Ian on Friday night and could soon become a hurricane threat to Florida.
Jason Samenow contributed to this report.