Slow-moving Earl weakens, but still bringing hefty impacts to Newfoundland
Earl is now a post-tropical storm, but its high winds, rain, and dangerous waves continue threatening Newfoundland Sunday.
Earl's life as a hurricane has come to an end, weakening into a post-tropical storm on Saturday, but the large and boisterous system will continue to bring a spell of rain, winds and swells to the Avalon Peninsula through Monday.
The Canadian Hurricane Centre, in its final tropical cyclone statement, said the system still packed maximum sustained winds of 111 km/h as of early Sunday morning and is situated 333 km south of Cape Race, N.L.
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The transition from a tropical cyclone to an extratropical cyclone is mostly a bureaucratic distinction when it comes to impacts. Even though the system no longer has the makeup of a hurricane, it’s still a large storm with heavy rain and strong winds that are producing high waves along coastal areas throughout the Maritimes.
In fact, former Earl’s wind field stretches more than 1,000 km from one end of the storm to the other, which is the same distance from Windsor, Ont., to Quebec City, Que. This kind of growth is common as storms lose their tropical characteristics and race northward.
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Earl pushes across Canadian waters
Tropical cyclone and special weather statements, as well as a rainfall warning, are still in effect for the Avalon Peninsula as Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) continues to monitor the system’s progress.
Strong northeasterly winds over the Avalon Peninsula will continue Sunday. A wind warning remains in effect for the southern Avalon Peninsula, including St. John's and vicinity, with gusts reaching 110 km/h over exposed areas until sometime Sunday morning.
Rain, at times heavy, may cause localized flooding, and hazardous driving conditions for the Avalon Peninsula through Monday. The heavy rain will be occurring over the Avalon Sunday morning and early afternoon. It will then move much farther offshore and showers really taper off. However, the area will still see spotty, scattered showers into early Tuesday but it won't equate to excessive amounts. Additional totals could hit 40-60 mm for St. John's into Tuesday.
A rainfall warning is in effect for the eastern Avalon, including St. John's and Vicinity.
Ocean swells from Earl will continue Sunday along the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Higher-than-normal water levels and large waves of 5 metres or more will affect the southern and eastern coasts of the Avalon. These waves may break higher along parts of the coast.
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Storm-force winds over some Newfoundland waters will become gale-force sometime Sunday. Offshore waves of 8-13 metres near the storm will slowly diminish during the day.
The NHC also outlined one disturbance in the tropical Atlantic for potential development over the next five days. This system remains far from land and there’s plenty of time to watch its potential development and track.
Thumbnail courtesy of NOAA.
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