Line-up for propane as Costco in Halifax. Sept 22, 2022.

A veteran meteorologist is predicting historic storm conditions when Hurricane Fiona arrives.

Bob Robichaud did not hesitate when asked by reporters on Thursday to characterize the powerful storm.

“Once this is all said and done, people are definitely going to remember Fiona for a very long time. When it comes to wind, that remains to be seen, but historic is a good characteristic of what this is going to be,” Robichaud explains. “An extremely strong and dangerous storm.”

Robichaud has been working in weather since the mid-1990’s. He’s now the Warning Preparedness Meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“Will it be as strong as [Hurricane] Juan in 2003 where there were some extreme winds…over a small area? This storm is going to be bigger in size but maybe a little stronger than what we saw with Dorian.” Robichaud offered.

Hurricane Dorian rocked our province in 2019, leaving more than 400,000 without electricity and costing Nova Scotia Power $39 million in damages. That’s compared to the $14 million bill Juan left with the utility in 2003.

For Fiona, rain will arrive Friday for most of Nova Scotia. Then, things get a little intense, as forecasts show the storm will bring dangerous conditions overnight into Saturday.

Hurricane Fiona track as of 3 p.m. on Thursday, September 22, 2022.

Hunkering Down

“This is a serious threat, and everybody has to take it seriously, ” Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said. “We’re going to do this the Nova Scotian way…we’re going to do the right things…we’re going to hunker down…and we’re going to take care of everybody.”

A hurricane watch has been issued from Halifax to Cape Breton, which means we could see winds over 120 km/h and upwards of 150mm of rain.

“We can not rule out up to 200mm in some places,” Robichaud said in an interview with our newsroom earlier in the day.

Fiona expected to touchdown in Eastern N.S.

Currently, Fiona is expected to be downgraded to a Category 3 on Friday, then as it makes landfall in eastern Nova Scotia, it is expected to lose more strength and be downgraded to a tropical storm. However, conditions will still be severe.

“This is going to be an around the clock response,” Minister of Emergency Management Office John Lohr said. “People are going to be away from their families for a very long time and that is hard.”

John Lohr, Minister responsible for the provincial Emergency Management Office, they mayors of HRM and CBRM along with key municipal partners and service providers spoke with media today, about preparations for the approaching storm.

EMO urges people to prepare

The Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office is asking people to prepare for Fiona by:

• Having enough food and water to last 72 hours.
• Securing any objects that can be blown around by wind (such as patio furniture).
• Moving boats to high ground.
• Filling vehicles with gas and parking them away from trees.
• Keeping pets indoors.
• Checking radio batteries and flashlights.
• Checking in on neighbours

When it comes to buying your storm food and supplies, Ancel Langille, with the Canadian Red Cross, tells us people don’t need to spend a lot of money to put an emergency kit together.

”You may already have the items,” he explained. “I’m thinking soup, can opener, bottled water, extra medication and supplies for your pet. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.”

Meantime, Nova Scotia Power will open its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Friday at 8am, ahead of the first Hurricane expected to impact Nova Scotia this season.

“We have been monitoring Hurricane Fiona for several days and have been taking steps to prepare,” said Sean
Borden, Nova Scotia Power’s storm lead.