Tropical storm Elsa to bring winds, rain
Fifth named storm of the season to hit P.E.I. on Friday
It might be worthwhile to tuck away the patio furniture and birdfeeders ahead of tropical storm Elsa that will impact P.E.I. on July 9, says the chief meteorologist for the SaltWire Network.
In a briefing on July 7, Cindy Day said the storm will likely bring strong winds to P.E.I., starting that afternoon, intensifying overnight and dissipating after noon on July 10.
With windspeeds gusting 70 to 80 km/h, things could get blown around a bit overnight, said Day.
“If you can tuck them around the north side of the house, you’re probably fine because the wind is coming out of the southeast and southwest.”
P.E.I. can also expect some rain with the wind, between 20 and 30 mm, with a potential for thunderstorms, which could mean higher rainfall in those areas.
THINKING AHEAD
While Elsa is not expected to generate storm surges, Tom Peters, general manager of the Silverfox Yacht Club in Summerside, will work with owners for a bit of added protections ahead of the storm, he said.
“We’ll do a little bit of individual maintenance with the boat owners, but other than that, nothing major planned.”
Still, he doesn’t expect much to come of the system.
“Based on the forecast for this one, not much more than adding a few extra ropes on their boats to the docks and tying down their canvases and stuff like that,” said Peters. “We don’t plan any evacuation or anything like that at this point.”
Maritime Electric has sent a weather briefing package out to its team to be aware of potential conditions, but right now it’s too early to say if there will be a significant impact, said Kim Griffin, manager of corporate communications and corporate affairs for Maritime Electric.
“We’re certainly watching it because of the foliage on the trees, particularly 50 or 60 (km/h) is the point at which we are certainly definitely paying attention.”
Griffin recommends, like all storms, that residents ensure they have an emergency kit.
“It’s also just keeping things charged, and we’ve certainly seen much more dependency on things that are charged with laptops and phones and those kinds of things.”
STORM TRACK
As of the afternoon of July 7, Elsa was making landfall along the north Florida gulf coastline. It will then travel across land and come back out over the Atlantic off the Virginia coast, she said.
“When that happens, with the fairly warm sea surface temperatures there, the storm is likely to re-intensify to become a tropical storm once again.”
The system will then likely race along the eastern seaboard, enter Canadian waters and run up the Bay of Fundy. By 8 p.m. on Friday, it will sit over the southwest corner of New Brunswick before speeding its way across that province. As of Saturday afternoon, it will be over the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the colder waters will sap the system of much of its tropical characteristics.
In P.E.I., southwesterly winds will start picking up Friday afternoon at speeds between 50 and 60 km/h, said Day.
“If you’re out Friday afternoon, you’re going to feel that tropical moisture in the air, and you’ll feel those little gusts kick in.”
Those winds will intensify overnight to those stronger gusts, and conditions will quickly improve after noon on Saturday.