Hurricane Bill

Hurricane Bill southeast of Nova Scotia.

We have a hurricane in Canadian waters this morning as Bill is moving northeast at 31 mph just offshore of southern Nova Scotia. Winds have been gusting to 100km/h on Sable Island and have increased over 60km/h in Yarmouth and Lunenburgh. Heavy rain bands have begun to move onshore and there is a serious threat of flooding from the nearly 150mm of rain expected in coastal areas. A tropical storm warning and hurricane watch remain in effect for the coastal areas of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Inland heavy rain warnings and high wind warnings are in place. Bill will rapidly move just due east off the coast today and on towards Newfoundland tonight. The strongest winds and heaviest rain are forecast in the next couple of hours. I noticed this morning that Yarmouth was at 22C with a dew point of 22C, a very tropical air mass and a humidex of 32C. This indicates that Bill is still carrying tropical characteristics and should only begin the transition into an extratropical system later today. A hurricane hunter reconnaissance aircraft flew into the storm this morning and recorded a central pressure of 965mb and winds of 85mph. Bill remains a very dangerous storm and will pound the coastal areas with high surge. A surge of 4 metres is expected in Nova Scotia with up to 5 metres in Cape Breton and a whopping 8m in southeast Newfoundland. There is great concern for damage to coastal infrastructure today.

Of note, Nova Scotia Power is on standby and is expecting numerous power outages. Also Halifax Regional Airport has been closed and all flights diverted or cancelled till further notice.

Here in Montreal, the western spiral bands have generated some cloud cover over the area and winds in the St. Lawrence Valley of Quebec are blowing out of the northeast from 25-50km/h and gusty in response to Bill.

More information on Hurricane Bill can be found HERE.