Hurricane, tropical storm watches issued in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in advance of Lee

By CityNews Halifax staff

A tropical storm watch is in effect for Annapolis, Kings, Lunenburg, and Hants Counties, Halifax Metro and Halifax County West, Cumberland County – Minas Shore, and Colchester County – Cobequid Bay in Nova Scotia.

The watch also encompasses Saint John County, Fundy National Park, Moncton, and Southeast New Brunswick.  The areas under the watch could see winds of 60 gusting to 90 and possibly 100 km/h over exposed areas.

A hurricane watch is in effect for Digby, Yarmouth, Shelburne, and Queens Counties in Nova Scotia along with Grand Manan Island and Coastal Charlotte County in New Brunswick, warning of the potential of winds gusting to 120 km/h occur Saturday.

The remainder of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and areas into Quebec remain included in a tropical cyclone statement.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) says Lee will continue moving slowly northward toward the Maritime provinces and New England on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday, Lee is expected to gradually weaken just below hurricane strength as it approaches the Gulf of Maine later.  While the centre of Lee could make landfall anywhere from Downeast Maine to western Nova Scotia as a strong tropical storm or post-tropical low late Saturday night or early Sunday, forecasters say it is still expected to be a large and powerful system with impacts extending well away from the storm’s centre.

The CHC said Thursday the storm may feature a “somewhat faster approach speed” as it passes Cape Cod and arrives in the region with hurricane-force winds.  The Hurricane Centre also describes the arrival of Lee as “a Saturday event for the strongest impacts with lingering weaker conditions on Sunday.”