Warnings Are Now In Place For Hurricane Fiona & It Could Be Worse Than Dorian

Warnings are now in place because of Hurricane Fiona and it's possible that this storm could be worse than Dorian.

On Friday, September 23, 2022, Environment Canada upgraded tropical storm and hurricane watches for parts of Atlantic Canada to tropical storm and hurricane warnings as Fiona gets closer to making direct landfall.

The hurricane warnings have forecast strong Category 1 hurricane-force winds of 100 km/h gusting to 140 km/h in open areas and 140 km/h gusting to 160 km/h along the coast.

Also, "dangerous waves" between 11 metres and 15 metres are expected from the storm.

That's for regions within the core of Hurricane Fiona and winds will likely gust to near Category 2 levels in eastern Cape Breton and southwest Newfoundland, just east of the eye.

For areas that are just outside of Hurricane Fiona's "severe core," hurricane warnings are still in effect but it's expected that there will be strong tropical storm force winds of closer to 80 km/h gusting to 120 km/h.

Winds could reach hurricane-force inland and even higher along the shore.

Waves from 7 metres to 10 metres are also forecast for areas not in the core of the storm.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for all of P.E.I., eastern parts of Nova Scotia including Halifax, western parts of Newfoundland and Quebec's Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

Tropical storm warnings are in place for most of New Brunswick, parts of Newfoundland, western parts of Nova Scotia and Quebec's north shore and Gaspé Peninsula.

It's expected that tropical storm force winds of 60 km/h gusting to 90 km/h will hit those regions because they are in the outer part of Hurricane Fiona's path.

Wind, rainfall and storm surge warnings are also in place across the region.

According to The Weather Network, Fiona is like two past storms that ripped through Atlantic Canada as it has the intensity of Hurricane Juan from 2003 and the size of Hurricane Dorian from 2019.

It's expected that this storm "could be worse than Dorian's destructive path."

Chris Scott, chief meteorologist at The Weather Network, noted that Juan was the most devastating storm to hit the maritime provinces and Dorian set a record for the most people without power at a single time.

"This is going to be an historic storm, we know it's going to be massive," Scott said. "We want to get across the point here that this is not just a hurricane, it's more like a hurricane and a nor'easter combined."

Environment Canada recommends securing your home, creating an action plan, making an emergency supply kit and staying updated with weather forecasts to prepare for the hurricane.