Tropical cyclone information statement issued ahead of Dorian (update)

UPDATE: Latest track shows Dorian impacting N.S. at hurricane strength, EMO urging people to prepare

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The Canadian Hurricane Centre is encouraging Maritimers to closely monitor the forecast heading into the weekend.

The national forecaster has issued a tropical cyclone information statement for all of Nova Scotia and most of the Maritimes.

In an interview at 10 a.m. Wednesday, meteorologist Bob Robichaud says there's the potential for a “significant weather event” Saturday as Dorian approaches the province.

“We're probably looking at mid-day to late day Saturday as to when we'll be feeling the impacts from Dorian,” he says.

The weather advisory says the system could still be a Category 1 storm as it approaches us, but it should diminish to a tropical storm as it moves through the region.

Areas south of the track could get hurricane-force winds and most of the Maritimes could see some tropical storm-force winds.

“This is not something we haven't seen before, but certainly the potential for some of these severe winds is something more of a rare event. It will largely depend on the track,” he explains. “There's still a possibility that some of these stronger winds will stay offshore.”

Significant rainfall is also expected, especially north and west of Dorian's track. At this point, that's expected to be the southern Maritimes and parts of Newfoundland.

The storm is currently a Category 2 hurricane off the Florida coast with maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h.

“It was stationary for a good part of early yesterday, but it's on the move now heading north-northwest at about 13 km/h,” Robichaud says. “Over the next 24 hours or so, we expect that the storm will maintain its intensity as it tracks off the coast of the southeast U.S.”

Forecasters will have a better idea of what to expect in the Maritimes when Dorian reaches the Carolinas. If the storm makes landfall, it should lose some intensity before it heads our way. 

“Who gets what in terms of heavy rain or severe winds, that's something we're going to be focusing on over the next few days at the Canadian Hurricane Centre,” Robichaud says.

Tropical Storm Gabrielle is also lurking in the Atlantic, well east of the Caribbean.

Meteorologist Ian Hubbard tells NEWS 95.7's The Rick Howe Show Dorian should have blown past Atlantic Canada by the time Gabrielle starts to come north, so the two systems shouldn't impact each other.

“The long range guidance on Gabrielle is actually having it turn north and then to the east, so at this point it's expected to stay clear of all of us here,” Hubbard says.