CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The general manager of the Charlottetown Marina said preparing for a storm is a little like bowling.
“The ball could go in the gutter or it could be a strike. You just prepare for the worst," Rob Gale told The Guardian Monday as he helped secure the marina’s floating dock and co-ordinate other measures designed to prepare for today’s expected arrival of hurricane Teddy.
Cindy Day, chief meteorologist with the SaltWire Network, said by the time the storm impacts the Maritime provinces it should be downgraded to a powerful post-tropical storm.
On P.E.I., the rain should begin to fall and winds will start to whip up around supper time today and remain strong throughout the day on Wednesday.
Central portions of the province can expect to see 60 to 80 millimetres of rain. Winds will gust out of the east, 80-90 km/h tonight before switching to gust up to 90 km/h out of the northwest on Wednesday.
Day said there will be a 50-centimetre storm surge for the Island that will affect the north shore and eastern Kings County.
“Rainfall totals are going to be impressive through central portions of the Island," Day said.
“You could be on that portion of the storm that breaks down that really feeds a lot of tropical waves. Winds may be even a little bit stronger across the Island on Wednesday."
Day expects downed trees will be an issue due to the prevalence of the leaves.
As of Monday, Teddy was a large storm, measuring 700 kilometres in diameter.
Day added the wind field is massive with this system.
The storm is expected to make landfall just east of Halifax.
Winds along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia are expected to be sustained at 65 km/h or greater.
On P.E.I., Day said the wind gusts will be similar to post-tropical storm Dorian, but the wind direction will be different.
“I don’t think you had such a strong north wind for such a strong period of time in the wake of Dorian. Depending on your location, a different wind direction can make it feel like a totally different storm, and that’s why I hesitate to compare it too closely when it comes to wind and rain.
“I think this one is going to linger a little while longer. The duration of strong winds, first southeast and then northwest – that will be what people will be talking about. And, that’s what is going to cause quite a bit of damage, I would say."
At a glance
Following is information on the damage totals from post-tropical storm Dorian which hit P.E.I. on Sept, 7, 2019:
- Prince Edward Island: $17.5 million
- New Brunswick: $22.5 million
- Newfoundland and Labrador: $2.5 million
- Nova Scotia: $62.2 million
- Quebec: $300,000
- Total: $105 million
(Insurance estimates provided by CatIQ licensed by the Insurance Bureau of Canada – CNW Group/Insurance Bureau of Canada)
News that the storm was coming was enough to make Rachel Sauve and her family close and fold up their seasonal floating tent restaurant, The Cork and Cast, on the Charlottetown Marina on Monday.
“We were going to try and stay open until Sept. 30, but we’re so close to the end of the season it’s just as easy to take everything down now," Sauve said.
Gale said people were taking the boats out of the water before this past weekend.
As of Monday, 90 per cent of the watercraft had been removed.
What can’t come out of the water will be moved over to the Quartermaster Marina at Peakes Quay.
