Rain, wind to pound P.E.I.
Incoming system expected to pack a bigger punch that expected
P.E.I. can expect a strong posttropical storm when Dorian arrives late Saturday, says the chief meteorologist with the SaltWire Network.
“P.E.I. is really going to get pounded with a little bit of everything,’’ Cindy Day said Thursday on a conference call with reporters.
“(You’re) kind of the chosen ones here.’’
The worst of it for the Island will take place overnight Saturday night into Sunday, between midnight and 6 to 7 a.m. on Sunday.
Day said the Island can expect up to 150 millimetres of rain and wind gusts of 100 km/h for several hours.
“It’s going to be quite a storm for the Island because of how the storm approaches – the wind ahead of the system is going to be very strong. I would say your winds will gust to 100 overnight Saturday into Sunday morning from the east and then come around to the west. You’ll also be in the area for very heavy rain. You’re just outside the eye of the storm.’’
Dorian, which devastated the Bahamas with winds gusting close to 300 km/h was upgraded late Thursday afternoon to a category 3 hurricane and was 1,500 kilometres south of Nova Scotia.
Day said things are expected to be rather calm on Saturday morning. Rain should begin in southwest Nova Scotia around 9 a.m.
There is good news with this system.
“It’s going to pick up forward speed as it weakens as they always do, so it will track through quickly, and that’s the saving grace for us because it’s going to stay very tightly wound. I hesitate to make a comparison but a little bit like Juan did,’’ Day said, referring to the September 2003 storm that hit the Island as a category 1 hurricane.
Winds will gust to 110 km/h in Halifax and along the Atlantic coast and the storm surge will produce 10-metre waves Halifax east and close to 12 metres along the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Day noted the storm will move out as quickly as it came in.
“It clears up very quickly. Once it starts to weaken and break down . . . it races across to Newfoundland and Labrador do (P.E.I.) may wake up to a few showers Sunday morning, strong west winds and then in the afternoon the wind breaks down as well. The wind will diminish and the skies will clear.’’