Bob Robichaud, Environment Canada warning preparedness meteorologist, said in a briefing Thursday that Hurricane Fiona is an “extremely powerful and dangerous storm.” “It will be as strong as [Hurricane] Juan when Juan made landfall in 2003 where there were extreme winds but they were concentrated in a small area?’ he said. “This storm will be larger in size compared to what Juan was, but maybe a little stronger than we saw with Dorian.”

Hurricane Juan

Hurricane Juan made landfall just west of Halifax as a Category 2 hurricane. (Ryan Snoddon/CBC) In late September 2003, Juan struck the Nova Scotia coast in Shad Bay as a Category 2 hurricane. Wind speeds in excess of 130 km/h were recorded in some areas of the province. On McNab Island at the entrance to Halifax Harbour, winds reached 176 km/h during the storm. The bay of St. Margarets saw most of the precipitation, with more than 50 millimeters of rain as the storm moved over central Nova Scotia. CBC News’ coverage of the storm described Juan as a “violent hurricane” that snapped power poles and caused massive storm surges.

Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane Dorian caused more extensive damage than Juan. (Ryan Snoddon/CBC) Nova Scotia Power says Hurricane Dorian was by far the most destructive storm the utility has ever faced — a title once held by Juan. Dorian was larger overall, making landfall as a posttropical storm south of Halifax at Sambro Creek with winds of 155 km/h, but producing gusts of about 100 km/h across most of Nova Scotia. This storm tracked largely diagonally across central Nova Scotia and dropped nearly 140mm of rain in some parts of the province.

Hurricane Fiona

Environment Canada’s Bob Robichaud says Fiona will be “a historic, extreme event for Atlantic Canada.” (Tina Simpkin/CBC) Like Dorian, experts say Fiona will hit eastern Nova Scotia as a strong post-tropical storm. It is expected to track the eastern mainland of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. Robichaud said during a briefing Friday afternoon that the province could expect between 100 millimeters and 150 millimeters of rain, although some areas could see more. Robichaud also said the storm may linger in Nova Scotia longer than past weather events. By 9am local time on Saturday, Fiona’s winds are expected to reach 165km/h. The natural color image above shows Hurricane Fiona shortly before landfall in Puerto Rico on September 18. (NASA)