Tropical Storm Chris expected to impact Atlantic Canada

A NOAA satellite image of Tropical storm Chris southeast of Cape Hatteras on Tuesday afternoon.

7pm Update: Chris has been upgraded to a category 1 hurricane, with 85mph winds.

Tropical storm Chris is slowly starting to pull away from the North Carolina coast this afternoon, after being nearly stationary for the last 48 hours. At 11am this morning, the strengthening center of Chris was located 320km southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with 70mph (110km/h) winds. The system was moving northeast at 15km/h, expected to enter the warm Gulf Stream waters shortly. Forecasters anticipate that Chris will become a hurricane later today. The immediate impacts from Chris have been pounding surf along the Outer Banks. Several roads have been washed over, and a few homes on Hatteras Island have suffered structural damage. One person drowned in the rough surf caused by Chris over the weekend in Nags Head, North Carolina.

The forecast track of Chris from the National Hurricane Centre, will take the storm very close to southeast Newfoundland by Friday.

Impacts in Atlantic Canada
As Chris strengthens over the next 24 hours, swells will increase along the east coast of the US. Chris is expected to weaken back to a tropical storm as it begins to approach the Canadian waters by Thursday. The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax is expecting Chris to have some impacts on Atlantic Canada. Winds and seas should increase early Thursday along the Nova Scotia coast, with Chris remaining well offshore. The storm is then likely to approach the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland Friday morning, with perhaps a landfall. Heavy rain, in excess of 50mm (2 inches) and strong winds up to 100km/h (60 mph) are possible by the end of the week for portions of Newfoundland. Some fine tuning will need to be done on the exact track and impacts as the week progresses. Interests in Atlantic Canada should closely monitor the progress of Chris.