Nova Scotia could be saved from hurricane Michael, but soaking coming regardless

Don’t complain about the rain. The northern system forecasted to bring Halifax about 40-50 millimetres of rain on Thursday will keep hurricane Michael offshore. “It’s kind of a consequence of how all the systems are playing out and interacting,” said Cindy Day in an interview.

The frontal boundary, cutting through the Valley and just north of Halifax as of Wednesday afternoon, was creating a division between two different air masses, said the chief meteorologist at SaltWire Network.

“If there was no system, it would allow it to roll inland a bit more, so it would probably make landfall or even come into the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, but just the way everything is positioned around it, it funnels it to a little trap that takes it just off Sable,” said Day.

While the northern system isn’t a hurricane, it’s still pretty powerful and will bring gusts of wind, said the meteorologist.

Hurricane Michael hit Panama City, Fla., as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday afternoon.

Michael will track south of Sable Island on Saturday morning.

“How close it will come is still a little bit of a question mark,” said Day, noting we may see morning showers at the most along the Eastern shore and Cape Breton.

“Since it’s so far away, it can wobble a little bit, but because of everything that’s blocking around it, it doesn’t have a great deal of wiggle room.”

From there, hurricane Michael will pull east of Newfoundland and open up the Arctic pipeline.

“The weekend’s going to be a little chilly,” said Day.

NASA VIA AP This photo made available by NASA shows they eye of hurricane Michael, as seen from the International Space Station on Wednesday.

CHRONICLE HERALD PHOTO A man fishes on the Halifax waterfront despite the rain on August 19, 2017. We may be spared the aftermath of a hurricane, but that won’t keep us dry.