Tropical storm Philippe is bound to bring wet and windy weather to the Maritime provinces this weekend, though forecasters say the impacts won’t be as bad as post-tropical storm Lee last month.
Special weather statements have been issued across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as the system is expected to bring up to 50 millimetres of rain and strong wind gusts Saturday night into Sunday.
In an update Friday morning, the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Philippe is forecasted to become a post-tropical storm by the time the weather associated with it reaches Nova Scotia.
As of 9 a.m. Friday, Lee was about 230 kilometres south of Bermuda.
While the centre of the storm is tracking left to the Maritime provinces, it’s still expected to bring winds gusting 70 to 80 km/h in some areas. The strongest winds are expected to each southwestern Nova Scotia, which includes Shelburne and Yarmouth, by mid-evening Saturday.
They should then reach the Annapolis Valley and Halifax areas by midnight Saturday.
“We don’t expect winds to be as strong as Hurricane Lee so impacts may be limited mostly to the breaking of some tree branches with the occasional power/utility interruption,” it said.
The wind is expected to diminish Sunday.
The storm will also bring 30 millimetres of rain or more to many areas of the province, and some areas of heaviest rain could get 50 millimetres of more. The rain is forecast to fall overnight Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
In terms of storm surge, the Canadian Hurricane Centre said “we don’t expect waves and storm surge to be as bad as Lee, but the same stretch of coast impacted by Lee will be affected by Philippe.”
Large waves and storm surge are expected along the south shore of Nova Scotia and as far east as Halifax.
“There could be some wave overwash and minor to moderate coastal flooding depending on the timing of conditions with high tide during the very early morning hours Sunday,” the statement said.
Wave heights over marine areas south of Nova Scotia could reach up to six to eight metres, with the largest waves expected Saturday night and subsiding during the day Sunday.
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