While the hurricane season is well underway in the South Atlantic, things have been quiet on the East Coast.
However, that’s about to change. CTV Atlantic chief meteorologist Cindy Day says Hurricane Leslie, the sixth named hurricane of the season, has set her sights on Atlantic Canada.
“Right now Hurricane Leslie is a Category 1 storm, sitting 650 kilometres southeast of Bermuda,” says Day. “The forward motion is incredibly slow – northward at four kilometers per hour.”
Day says computer models indicate Leslie is expected to “speed up considerably” as it travels north of Bermuda Sunday morning as a Category 2 hurricane.
Meanwhile, the Maritimes should see a cold front Sunday, although Leslie is not expected to hit the East Coast until Monday, if at all.
“Some computer models ‘dig’ or slow down the trough, which allows Leslie to stay on a northerly track for a longer period, which leads to a greater threat for Nova Scotia late Monday,” says Day. “Most models speed the trough through quite quickly, which could cause Leslie to re-curve northeastward, leading to a more likely direct hit over southeastern Newfoundland.”
Based on Thursday’s computer models, Day anticipates Leslie will travel south of Cape Breton, then across the Avalon Peninsula sometime Monday night as either a strong tropical storm or a Category 1 hurricane, although the track could change.
“I think the storm will move faster than the modeling currently shows,” she says. “Once we get to Saturday the computer models should have a really good handle on the storm track.”
