Harvey likely to have little impact on Canada — but next storm might

Although Hurricane Harvey isn’t expected to have much of an impact on Canada, forecasters are warning of another potentially powerful storm that could blow through eastern parts of the country next week.

Halifax meteorologist Jim Murtha said Harvey — which strengthened to a Category 2 storm as it steered toward the Texas coast on Friday — could bring some rainfall anywhere from southern Ontario to the Maritimes in several days.

“We’re not talking copious amounts of rain by the looks of it. The bigger worst-case scenario is the development of the next storm. That’s the one that right now, we really want to pay attention to,” said Murtha, who works out of the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth.

Murtha said the storm could develop over the weekend off the east coast of Florida.

He said the system has the potential to be “quite a storm” and could bring heavy rainfall and strong winds to parts of Atlantic Canada mid-next week or beyond.

“It’s a little bit of a domino effect. What happens to Harvey and how long it lingers along the Gulf Coast, and what happens to the remnants of that... will have an effect on the evolution of this second system off the coast of Florida,” he said.

Murtha said the centre is hoping forecasts become clearer over the weekend. If the storm forms and unfolds with tropical characteristics, he said the next name on the list in Irma.