Expect a serious storm when Earl comes to town: Hurricane Centre

DARTMOUTH, N.S. - Just one day before Hurricane Earl is expected to hit the Maritimes, the Canadian Hurricane Centre held a briefing, and although American forecasters are calling for Hurricane Earl to diminish as it makes its way to the Maritimes, Canadian forecasters are reluctant to say the same.

While the Moncton area is under a tropical storm warning and rainfall and wind warnings with up to 70 mm of rainfall and wind gusts of 90 km per hour expected, parts of Nova Scotia are under a more severe hurricane watch.

"We're warning people of the possible wind gusts to 120 to 130 km/h still," says Chris Fogarty with the Canadian Hurricane Centre. "My concern here is the above normal water temperatures, normally our cooler waters offshore tend to buffer or shelter us from the higher winds."

Fogarty says the track is remaining fairly stable, with landfall expected near Yarmouth or Digby around 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

"The Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, that's where the highest winds would likely be and the associated waves," says Fogarty.

He says they're forecasting 10-metre waves along the coast.