Franklin remains Category 4 hurricane, still tracking south of Atlantic Canada

The National Hurricane Center says Franklin remains a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it moves northward in the Atlantic.

In a Tuesday morning update, the agency said the storm was about 615 kilometres west-southwest of Bermuda, with maximum sustained winds of 220 km/h, and moving 15 km/h toward the north-northeast.

The National Hurricane Center says while winds have decreased, the storm is still a 'formidable' Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

A tropical storm watch is currently in effect for Bermuda.

“Life-threatening surf and rip currents generated by Franklin are already affecting Bermuda and the coast of the southeast United States. These conditions are expected to spread northward along the east coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada later today into Wednesday,” a bulletin on the NHC’s website reads.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre also issued an updated map on Franklin’s track Tuesday morning.

The map continues to show the hurricane south of Nova Scotia by 3 a.m. local time Thursday, but now with maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h. The storm continues to track south of Newfoundland by 3 a.m. Friday at 140 km/h before moving east, away from Atlantic Canada, by early Saturday morning at 120 km/h.

CTV Atlantic meteorologist Kalin Mitchell says the storm is not expected to have any direct on-land impacts in the region, unless there is an unexpected and significant change in the track.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre expects Franklin to bring heavy surf conditions to parts of the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland by Wednesday.

“Indications are that swells near 2m (7 feet) will approach the shore on Thursday and could break up to 3m (10 feet),” the centre said in a statement Monday afternoon.