Nothing merry about Noel: forecasters

Last Updated: Friday, November 2, 2007 | 8:30 PM AT

CBC News

Batten down the hatches. Hurricane Noel is aiming for the Atlantic provinces.

'It will be more a good fall storm. By good I'm talking meteorologically.'— Peter Bowyer, Environment Canada

Noel is expected to be a post-tropical storm by the time it reaches the region on Saturday, but forecasters say it will still pack a wallop.

Environment Canada's Peter Bowyer is calling it a "dangerous" storm.

"It will not be a technical hurricane when it arrives. It will be more a good fall storm. By good I'm talking meteorologically, not in terms of the way the public would want to consider it," he told reporters Friday.

The centre of the fast-moving system is expected to move over Yarmouth sometime late Saturday evening, then travel northeast and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence by Sunday morning.

Officials have issued warnings in all four Atlantic provinces, and residents have been urged to take precautions while they can.

Hurricane Noel as it passed 180 miles north-northeast of Nassau, Bahamas at 1:31 a.m. EDT Friday.
(NOAA/Associated Press)

"Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day, so there's no reason why people can't get out around their homes, pick up anything that's loose, put away their summer stuff [and] check their drains," Fred Hollett, director of the Emergency Measures Organization in Newfoundland and Labrador, said Friday afternoon.

Air Canada has cancelled 13 flights coming into or leaving Halifax on Saturday. Travellers are advised to call ahead to check their flight status.

Heavy rains, high winds

Western Nova Scotia and parts of New Brunswick could see about 50 millimetres of rain or even 100 millimetres, with winds gusting to 100 km/h or even 130 km/h in some areas. Rainfall amounts in P.E.I. could be slightly lower, but wind gusts of 120 km/h are expected.

Though Bowyer said Noel could bring hurricane-force winds, he was reluctant to compare it to Hurricane Juan, which ripped through Nova Scotia and into Prince Edward Island on Sept. 29, 2003.

"I hesitate to make the comparison because then people might kind of set down their vigilance," he said.

"Don't be worried, just be prepared. This is not, at this point, anything like a Hurricane Juan, but it's still a dangerous storm that can bring damaging winds and affect the outside of properties."

Bowyer also urged people to avoid Nova Scotia's Atlantic coastline, which could see 10-metre-high waves.

"That will arrive on the coast of Nova Scotia Saturday night as some pretty heavy pounding surf," he said.

The parking lot at the Charlottetown Yacht Club was full as boats were pulled from the water.
(CBC)

In Lunenburg, N.S., some people were taking precautions Friday afternoon.

"I see right now, looking out the harbour here, a number of small boats being moved to cover," said Allan Creaser, who owns two restaurants near the harbour.

Creaser said he planned to shut off power and tie down loose items in case of high winds.

Emergency plans in place

Power companies are warning of significant electrical outages across the region.

In Halifax, Mayor Peter Kelly said people should have emergency supplies on hand, while staff at Nova Scotia Power are on emergency standby. Officials met earlier Friday to discuss plans to deal with the storm.

"There will likely be damage to infrastructure including power lines and we better be ready to stand up against it and be prepared to repair it," said spokesperson Margaret Murphy.

About 500 Red Cross volunteers are also on standby in N.S.

On P.E.I., Maritime Electric officials were also making preparations.

"There is a good chance that if the storm continues at its current level and its current tracking that, yes, there could be power outages," Maritime Electric president Fred O'Brien said.

Noel hit the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas earlier this week. By early Friday, the death toll was at 115 people.