Fiona could bring severe weather to the Atlantic provinces this weekend.

In their latest update, the Canadian Hurricane Centre says the centre of the storm is projected to hit eastern Cape Breton on Saturday with hurricane force winds and heavy rain.

They say the storm is quite large, so the exact path is still not certain, but the impacts will be felt in ‘multiple provinces.’

Environment Canada issued a Special Weather Statement for all of Nova Scotia, eastern New Brunswick and PEI this morning.

The forecaster says Fiona will merge with another system and become a hurricane force post tropical cyclone on Saturday.

They say heavy rain will begin Thursday night in some areas, with flooding and washed out roads a possibility.

Meteorologist Ian Hubbard says it will lose some of its hurricane properties.

“That doesn’t make it any less significant. Those winds, and that rain, and all that energy from that storm will still be present, even if it doesn’t have the name ‘hurricane’ associated with it,” says Hubbard.

Strong to severe winds will begin impacting the region on Friday, and peak on Saturday, with the potential for prolonged power outages and structural damage.

Hubbard says the storm is something Nova Scotians should take very seriously as we approach the weekend.