Fierce “Fiona” slams into Atlantic Canada, leaving hundreds of thousands in the dark

50 to 100-foot waves measured off-shore with wind gusts of more than 85 mph.

MAINE, USA — This morning, the visible satellite imagery of post tropical storm “Fiona” made landfall in eastern Nova Scotia. 

Credit: College of Dupage

The storm lost its tropical characteristics as it “bombed out” over Atlantic Canada. The term “bombing out” is used when a cyclone drops at least 24 MB in 24 hours. The storm did just that and is unofficially the strongest on record to landfall on Canadian soil. 

It also left nearly all of Prince Edward Island without power Saturday morning, and a large chunk of Nova Scotia is also in the dark. 

A buoy east of Sable Island measured waves of 56 feet with a peak height of 100 feet. 

I await official word from the National Hurricane Center. If certified, the record would be shattered.

Here are the official observations from the NHC Storm Description:

Sep 24, 2022 – 12:00 UTC …CENTER OF FIONA NOW OVER THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE… …HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS, SURGES, AND HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE ACROSS PORTIONS OF ATLANTIC CANADA… As of 8:00 AM AST Sat Sep 24, the center of Fiona was located near 47.3, -61.5 with movement N at 23 mph. The minimum central pressure was 937 MB with maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph.

Sep 24, 2022 – 9:00 UTC …CENTER OF FIONA NOW CROSSING EASTERN NOVA SCOTIA… …HIGH WINDS AND HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE… As of 5:00 AM AST Sat Sep 24, the center of Fiona was located near 46.0, -61.0 with movement N at 26 mph. The minimum central pressure was 931 MB with maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph.

Sep 24, 2022 – 6:00 UTC …HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS SPREADING ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN NOVA SCOTIA AS THE CENTER OF FIONA APPROACHES… As of 2:00 AM AST Sat Sep 24, the center of Fiona was located near 45.1, -61.1 with movement N at 40 mph. The minimum central pressure was 933 MB with maximum sustained winds of about 100 mph.

Maine will not see nearly the amount of power outages as the Canadian Maritimes, but eastern Maine will see some due to up to 65 mph gusts in Washington County.

Some are already calling this “Superstorm” Fiona because of its impacts on Canada, much like what “Superstorm” Sandy did to the Mid-Atlantic United States several years ago. 

Do you have any friends or family in Atlantic Canada? Is this the worst storm they’ve ever seen? Let me know on my Facebook page.

For the latest updates on the storm, go to my Twitter page. 

-Meteorologist Jason Nappi