Teddy prompts tropical storm, wind, rain and storm surge warnings (update)

UPDATE: Hurricane Teddy to deliver a one-two punch to Nova Scotia 

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A long list of weather advisories have been issued for the Halifax area ahead of Hurricane Teddy's arrival in Nova Scotia.

An earlier tropical storm watch has now been upgraded to a tropical storm warning. As of Monday afternoon, there are also currently wind, rain and storm surge warnings in effect.

At a Monday briefing, Canadian Hurricane Centre meteorologist Bob Robichaud said Teddy will likely transition to a post-tropical storm before it reaches us.

“Post-tropical doesn't necessarily mean a weaker storm, it just has to do with the structure of the storm,” he told reporters. “Essentially the windfield gets larger and covers a bigger area.”

Robichaud expects conditions to start deteriorating late Tuesday morning in Nova Scotia as winds pick up along the Atlantic coast.

“And then there's going to be a bit of a break for a few hours after that first band goes through,” he said.

“The centre of Teddy is only going to approach the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia … kind of afternoon hours on Wednesday.”

According to the Canadian Hurricane Centre's projected track for Teddy as of 3 p.m. Monday, the centre could pass over anywhere from just west of Halifax to just east of Cape Breton.

“All of that area is still on the table in terms of the track of the storm,” Robichaud explained. 

“The strongest winds that we're likely going to see with Teddy are going to be on the right side of the storm as the centre of the storm goes by,” he added. “It's not going to be tomorrow, it's going to be into Wednesday.”

The heaviest rains will be to the left of Teddy's track and totals could range between 50 to 100 mm.

Robichaud said expects storm surge to be at its worst with the centre of the storm reaches the coastline. 

“In terms of if we're going to get any issues there, it's going to be late in the day tomorrow,” he said. “And as we go into the evening hours, the tide is going to be rising.”

“We're looking at a peak tide in that general area around 1 o'clock in the morning Tuesday into Wednesday, so that is probably when you're going to see most of your major issues, if we do see major issues there.”

Robichaud said as the storm gets closer, meteorologists will have a better idea of Teddy's exact track, which will determine how Nova Scotians will be impacted.

“It's going to be different depending on where you are, so the main message at this point is just to keep a very close eye on the weather forecast over the next 48 to 72 hours.”

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EARLIER VERSION OF THE STORY IS BELOW
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At around 9:45 a.m. Monday, a storm surge warning was added to the wind warning, tropical storm watch and special weather statement issued for the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, including the Halifax area.

As of 9 a.m., Hurricane Teddy is about 210 kilometres southeast of Bermuda.

Environment Canada says it's still too early to know the specifics, but the storm is expected to bring tropical storm-force winds to parts of the province Tuesday.

“Thereafter it is expected to transition to a large and intense post-tropical storm as it brings heavy rain, strong winds and heavy pounding surf to much of the Maritimes and southern Newfoundland,” Environment Canada says.

Canadian Hurricane Centre meteorologist Ian Hubbard expects rain to start falling in the Halifax area Tuesday morning, which will continue throughout the day, night and into Wednesday.

“We're going to start to see the winds picking up during the day on Tuesday as well,” Hubbard said late Monday morning. “By late afternoon, we should see some gusts to 70, with possible gusts to 90 along parts of the coast.”

Those high winds could damage buildings, including roof shingles and windows. High winds could also carry away any loose objects and break tree branches.

Nova Scotia Power has asked us to prepare for potential outages by charging devices and preparing an emergency kit.

He said there may be a lull in those strong winds as the storm's centre approaches.

“So we might see a little break in there, but that doesn't mean the storm has moved away,” Hubbard explained.

The storm surge warning is in effect for Shelburne County east to Guysborough where very large waves and rough and pounding surf are expected.

“We're expecting to see some storm surge values of up to about 50 cms and that could cause some issues, especially near high tide Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning,” said Hubbard. “That's going to be combined with these very large waves that are being created and the pounding surf from this wind from Hurricane Teddy.”

The 9 a.m. projected track has Teddy's centre arriving somewhere near Sheet Harbour, but forecasters say there's still some uncertainty of exactly where it will make landfall.

“When people see the storm track on our website, that's certainly not set in stone,” said Hubbard. 

“It's important to realize the yellow cone that surrounds that track, that our cone of error. That track could be anywhere within that yellow cone by the time it gets up here.”