Hurricane Fiona forecast to bring 'severe' winds, heavy rainfall to Atlantic Canada
Hurricane Fiona forecast to bring 'severe' winds, heavy rainfall to Atlantic Canada
HALIFAX -
Hurricane Fiona is on track to blast through Atlantic Canada and Quebec as a formidable post-tropical storm this weekend.
Environment Canada's forecast Thursday called for the intense low-pressure storm system to bring heavy rainfall and "severe" winds that will likely cause damage and widespread power outages.
Heading northward, Fiona was expected to reach Nova Scotia waters by Friday night before passing through the eastern mainland part of the province, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island on Saturday, and on to Quebec's Lower North Shore and southeastern Labrador early Sunday.
Ian Hubbard, a meteorologist at the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth, N.S., warned that the public needs to keep its guard up, even though the hurricane is expected to become a post-tropical storm once it makes landfall.
"That doesn't mean it will be any less severe," said Hubbard. "These post-tropical storms still pack a good punch and can still support hurricane-force winds."
Most affected regions will see wind speeds over 100 kilometres per hour, with the potential for gusts as high as 140 kilometres per hour in eastern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and parts of Prince Edward Island, Hubbard said.
The conditions are expected to bring pounding surf to coastal areas of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, with waves off Nova Scotia expected to build to more than 10 metres.
There is also the potential for flooding with widespread rain of anywhere from 100 to 200 millimetres closer to the path of the storm in eastern Nova Scotia, southwestern Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence region.
Hubbard said if anything, the storm's track had shifted slightly to the west and inland since the beginning of the week.
"As we get closer to the event, it's becoming more likely that the track we are seeing now is getting closer to reality by the time it arrives," he said.
The approaching storm prompted the precautionary closure by Parks Canada of Nova Scotia's Kejimkujik National Park and Cape Breton Highlands National Park effective noon Friday. The service said it would also close the Fortress of Louisbourg and Alexander Graham Bell national historic sites in Cape Breton beginning Friday.
Meanwhile, Bay Ferries announced that it was cancelling its high-speed ferry service between Yarmouth, N.S., and Bar Harbor, Maine, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
As well, it warned that sailings for its service between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S., may be disrupted on Friday, while all Saturday sailings are cancelled along with all sailings for its service between Saint John, N.B., and Digby, N.S.
Fiona caused historic flooding when it barrelled through Puerto Rico earlier this week, smashing roads and bridges. It then struck the Dominican Republic and swiped past the Turks and Caicos Islands as it strengthened into a Category 4 storm.
The forecast calls for the storm to pass near Bermuda early Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2022.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
The federal government has set aside billions of dollars to quickly build affordable housing across the country, but delays in construction suggest many of the projects approved for funding are missing their deadlines.
After years of reports and allegations detailing a 'toxic' workplace, Canada's RCMP says it is trying to evolve, focusing on diversity in its organization and repairing relationships with communities as it marks its 150th anniversary.
The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummelling the Black motorist.
Tyre Nichols' fatal encounter with police officers in Memphis, Tenn., recorded in video made public Friday night, is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have failed to prevent more flashpoints in an intractable epidemic of brutality.
When 1990s suede fringe jackets started making a comeback last year, a U.K.-based vintage clothing company decided to order four tonnes of suede from a supplier in the United States. Along with that shipment came a once-in-a lifetime discovery.
When the cold and snow have people hunkering down, these outdoor enthusiasts find motivation in braving the Canadian winter through community and sport.
When President Joe Biden signed a bill last year to fight gun violence -- the first such measure to pass Congress in a generation -- a substantial majority supported it. But 78 per cent said they believed it would do little or nothing at all, a survey by the Pew Research Center found.
According to a new study, showing university students the health risks of vaping through experts and personal testimonies can help deter them from using e-cigarettes.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights an example of a W5 mini investigation that never made it to air, but made a difference in someone's life nonetheless.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights some of W5's upcoming investigations, including Mexico's multi-billion dollar avocado industry run by cartels, and a continuing look into the Pivot Airlines passengers and crew who were detained for months without charges in the Dominican Republic.
The five-member Pivot Airlines crew, who had been detained in the Dominican Republic for almost eight months, is now back in Canada. An emotional airport reunion took place in a special pre-arrivals area of Toronto Pearson International Airport, as the two flight attendants, pilot, co-pilot and mechanic were greeted by family.
W5 speaks with Pivot Airlines flight attendant Christina Carello, who reveals new details about how she uncovered key evidence that had been tampered with in a nightmare ordeal in the Dominican Republic.
CTV's W5 has been shown never-before-seen surveillance footage of Punta Cana International Airport from the night before a Canadian airline crew was detained after discovering duffel bags stuffed with 210 kilograms of cocaine in their plane's avionics bay.
Fifty years ago, Omar Sachedina’s mother was expelled from Uganda along with tens of thousands of other Asians. This summer, she returned to her village for the first time. Omar recounts, in his own words, the emotional return to his mother’s homeland on CTVNews.ca.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
Late Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion is being remembered for the many ways she contributed to not only to the city she led for 36 years, but also the province.
OPS and Ottawa Bylaw officers issued 117 parking tickets and 47 Provincial Offences Notices Saturday, as hundreds of people marked the one-year anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy'.
Ottawa police are warning the public of the dangers of texting explicit images to people on social media platforms, after seeing a spike in sextortion cases this winter.
The Region of Waterloo has lost a court bid for an injunction to evict residents of an encampment on municipally owned land at Victoria Street North and Weber Street West in Kitchener.
A drag queen show in Elora will continue Saturday night as planned, despite organizers saying concerns were raised after online comments targeted the event.
With art displays and activities to bring out the best of winter for a one-day festival of fun, Winterloo has returned after three years of pandemic alterations.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
The supporters outnumbered the protesters more than 20-to-one. As drag queen Amanda Villa prepared to sing and read to children in Sarnia, a small group of protesters marched outside, while more than 100 supporters of the rally “All You Need is Love” spent time chasing them around the parking lot, and having peaceful discussions about acceptance and hate.
Only a few days after a large winter weather system rolled through southern Ontario, Environment Canada has once again issued a special weather statement for the London region, warning of a snow-rain mix expected to begin Saturday night.
Ward Four Coun. Mark McKenzie has now made his position known over whether or not council should rescind its support for the downtown location of a drug consumption and treatment site. But now a petition has also been launched in favour of moving forward on the project and keeping the site where it is.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
It's been more than three months since a Windsor-based fitness instructor and former hockey player took his own life — but his legacy is living on through a new fundraiser which organizers hope will spark new conversations about mental health for years to come
Anti-poverty activists are praising the Quebec basic income program as a good step toward helping people meet their basic needs — but say strict eligibility criteria exclude many of the province’s lowest-income residents.
Some Indigenous communities in Quebec that are patrolled by provincial police say the established system does not fully meet security needs and needs improvement.
A ceremony will be held this evening to mark the sixth anniversary of Quebec City's deadly mosque shooting. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, several senior federal cabinet ministers and Quebec Premier Francois Legault are among those expected to attend.
Some faculty members at Cape Breton University have walked off the job. Their strike started Friday, with the faculty's union saying the administration has disrespected it at every turn, leading to a large number of labour grievances.
As extreme cold weather brings wind chill values nearing -40°C, it's impacting everything from winter recreation to the city's most vulnerable population.
The Hitmen return to the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex helped a little as the team collected a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Saskatoon Blades Saturday afternoon on Tsuut'ina Nation.
An organization helping Ukrainian newcomers settle into their new lives in Edmonton is hosting a furniture donation blitz to help restock their warehouse.
Canadian police chiefs condemned on Friday the death of a Black man who was savagely beaten by police during a traffic stop in the United States, saying the officers involved must be held accountable.
A former Kelowna nurse has been disciplined by her professional college for her inadequate response to an unresponsive person at the entrance of the emergency department where she was working in September 2021.
BC Emergency Health Services saw a slight decline in 911 calls for overdose and drug toxicity last year, but some areas saw a dramatic increase, and the death rate doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos insists the federal government is going to 'work flexibly' with the provinces on the terms of a possible health-care funding deal and avoid 'micromanaging' how they deliver health care to Canadians.
The federal government has set aside billions of dollars to quickly build affordable housing across the country, but delays in construction suggest many of the projects approved for funding are missing their deadlines.
Members of Parliament are making their way back to Ottawa ahead of resuming sitting on Monday, as the city prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of the arrival of 'Freedom Convoy' protesters.
Health Canada says it will continue to recommend COVID-19 prevention drug, Evulsheld, despite U.S. FDA pulling back its emergency use authorization due to concerns around its efficacy against Omicron subvariant 'Kraken.'
Training of surgeons in Canada has taken a heavy knock from the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some doctors say their clinical education has been delayed again in recent months as many hospitals across the country cancelled elective procedures to keep up with emergency care.
A new survey suggests the vast majority of Canadians have concerns about the state of the health-care system, particularly in Atlantic provinces where hospitals have struggled to maintain emergency services for months. Leger and The Association for Canadian Studies surveyed 1,554 Canadian adults over a two-day period in January.
What looks like a giant teddy bear’s face peering into space from the surface of Mars is actually a satellite image of some craters and a circular fracture, scientists say.
Nvidia Corp Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang on Tuesday said that the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence will create powerful tools that require legal regulation and social norms that have yet to be worked out.
A chance discovery by an Edmonton area woman who was walking her dogs has turned out to be a massive fossilized bone that likely belonged to an Ice Age mammoth.
Actress, teacher and former senator Viola Leger has died at the age of 92. A release from management company Le Grenier musique says Leger died Saturday in Dieppe, New Brunswick.
BookTok is all abuzz with the news that Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will be starring in a movie based on the bestselling romance novel, "It Ends With Us."
Italian designer Sabato De Sarno has been named the new creative director of Gucci, and will unveil his first collection during Milan Fashion Week next September, Gucci and parent company Kering announced Saturday.
Federal prosecutors are trying to prohibit FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from privately contacting current and former employees of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange to prevent potential witness tampering in a criminal case accusing him of bilking investors and customers.
Italy's prime minister visited Libya for talks Saturday with officials from the country's west-based government focusing on energy and migration, top issues for Italy and the European Union. Libya is the third North African country Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited over the last two weeks as she seeks to secure new supplies of natural gas.
A pair of senior U.S. senators is urging the Biden administration to get tough with Canada for "flouting" obligations to its North American trade partners.
When 1990s suede fringe jackets started making a comeback last year, a U.K.-based vintage clothing company decided to order four tonnes of suede from a supplier in the United States. Along with that shipment came a once-in-a lifetime discovery.
When the cold and snow have people hunkering down, these outdoor enthusiasts find motivation in braving the Canadian winter through community and sport.
Only briefly challenged in the final on Sunday night, Novak Djokovic was simply better at the most crucial moments and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas for a record-extending 10th Australian Open championship and record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title overall. As a bonus, Djokovic will vault from No. 5 to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, a spot he already has held for more weeks than any other man.
Aryna Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, who won her first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Saturday night, using 17 aces among her 51 total winners to overcome seven double-faults.
Hyundai cars in Canada don't have the same anti-theft issue compared to those in the United States, a company spokesperson says, following reports that two American auto insurers are refusing to write policies for older models.
Progressive and State Farm, two of America's largest auto insurers, are refusing to write policies in certain cities for some older Hyundai and Kia models that have been deemed too easy to steal, according to one of the insurance companies and media reports.
