Tropical Depression Gabrielle drenching Maritimes
Posted Sep 13, 2013 06:40:39 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If you have plans for today, hopefully they include rubber boots and an umbrella.
Tropical Depression Gabrielle is churning towards Halifax.
Gabrielle will be post-tropical by the time she gets here later today and the centre of the storm isn’t expected to hit the shoreline until early evening, but Environment Canada’s Jean-Marc Couturier told News 95.7 the region will be feeling her fury all day.
“There will be plenty of moisture streaming ahead of the system,” he explained. “We have issued rainfall warnings for much of Central Nova Scotia, extending northeast towards Pictou County and even P.E.I.”
Halifax will probably see around 50 millimetres of rain, but Couturier warns there is the potential for double that in some areas of the province and that could lead to some flooding.
If there’s any good news it’s that the storm is meeting up with a front coming down from New Brunswick, which should mean slightly less wind.
“We’re expecting gusts perhaps of 70 kilometres an hour, mostly along the eastern shore of Nova Scotia and slightly stronger gusts over Cape Breton over the nighttime,” Couturier explained.
Even though this isn’t going to be the storm of the century, Halifax Regional Municipality spokesperson Brendan Elliot said the municipality is always on alert.
“We have an emergency measures operation over in Dartmouth that’s ready upon cue, literally getting a phone call and we’re ready to do,” he said.
He added, this is the perfect time to make sure you have an emergency kit at home.
“When someone comes knocking on your door and says it’s time to get out, you don’t have time to go running around the house,” Elliot explained. “It has to all be there because you probably only have about 30 seconds to get out.”
Elliot said it’s also not a bad idea to get some cash from the ATM today, just in case the power goes out and you need to buy something.
