Tropical storm Fay heads for mid-Atlantic coast, could bring heavy rain to Quebec, eastern Canada

Tropical storm Fay has its sights set on the mid-Atlantic coast and maybe even parts of eastern Canada.

Fay is the sixth named storm of this hurricane season and began its move away from the North Carolina coast Thursday evening in the direction of southern New England, per the Associated Press.

A tropical storm warning was issued Thursday afternoon from Cape May, N.J., to Watch Hill, R.I. The warning, forecasters said, also includes New York.

Fay is expected to strengthen into Friday before moving inland, at which point it should weaken.

1:29 Effects from Tropical Storm Fay causes flooding in Ocean City, New Jersey

Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell says “Fay won’t have time to intensify much” but added that “a storm in late August or September moving north up the coast would be big trouble.”

“Fay is a weak tropical storm with winds of only 80 kph, but will be a big rain producer for the U.S. northeast and southern Quebec,” Farnell told Global News. “Fay is tracking north and will make landfall Friday afternoon in New Jersey and move into southern Quebec on Saturday as a weakening tropical depression.”

Quebec will likely experience heavy rain that could also be seen in southern Ontario and all the way into Atlantic Canada, too.

3:14 Tropical Storm Fay brings heavy winds, rain to New Jersey

“A widespread 20 to 40 millimetres of beneficial rain will impact this drought-stricken corridor, but locally, up to 80 millimetres is possible, which could cause some minor flooding,” he added.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., said the storm is expected to have a faster forward speed over the next couple of days.

1:09 Tropical storm Cristobal brings heavy flooding in Mexico

Fay’s top wind speeds hit a high of 75 kilometres per hour, and the storm was moving forward northerly at 13 kph on Thursday.

Previous to Fay was Cristobal, which formed in early June and was downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression. The storm brewed over southern Mexico, causing devastating flash flooding in the country.

Cristobal made history as the third tropical storm of 2020 only four days into the typical hurricane season, the Weather Channel reported.

Now, tropical storm Fay has taken the lead as the earliest sixth-named storm on record, preceded by storms Dolly and Edouard, according to Colorado State University hurricane researched Phil Klotzbach.

This record, Klotzbach tweeted, was previously held by tropical storm Franklin in 2005.

So far, none of them have become hurricanes.

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meaghan.wray@globalnews.ca