Canadian Hurricane Centre monitoring the approach of Tropical Storm Philippe

By CityNews Halifax staff

The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) in Dartmouth says it’s continuing to watch Tropical Storm Philippe closely.

The storm’s last reported position early Wednesday morning was just north-north-east of the British Virgin Islands with sustained winds around 70 km/h and is moving in a northwesterly direction at about 20 km/h.

“We do expect the storm will track toward the Maritimes over the weekend,” explained CHC meteorologist Bob Robichaud. “The best estimate is for the centre of the storm to enter the Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy area early Sunday.”

Robichaud said the storm could still track anywhere from Maine to western Nova Scotia.

“For the Halifax area, given the track west of us – assuming that holds true – wind would be the bigger concern, with potential gusts near the coast that could reach our warning criteria,” Robichaud said.

The Hurricane Centre expects to begin issuing advisories for Philippe in the coming days, and Robichaud is asking people in Nova Scotia to watch the forecast ahead of the Thanksgiving long weekend.