Bomb cyclone grazes Atlantic Canada with howling winds
A powerful low-pressure system deepening over the northern Atlantic Ocean will produce wicked winds into Sunday as it tracks just offshore.
The storm’s swift pressure drop likely fulfills the criteria for bombogenesis, otherwise known as a "bomb cyclone."
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Prepare for potential power outages and tree damage. Some cities could see their strongest wind gusts since the beginning of the year.
Make sure your devices are properly charged.
Gusty winds continue into Sunday
A tight pressure gradient between the rapidly deepening low and a centre of high pressure over the Mid-Atlantic states will force winds to howl at times into the end of the weekend.
Blustery conditions peaked across the Maritimes on Saturday, with the threat for high winds pushing east into Newfoundland overnight through Sunday.
The low-pressure system will make its closest approach to Newfoundland on Sunday morning.
Peak winds for Newfoundland are forecast for late Sunday morning into the early afternoon. The northern Avalon Peninsula, including St. John’s and Bonavista, is at risk of wind gusts approaching 100 km/h by early Sunday afternoon.
If you’re curious, here are some stats for St. John’s for the last time we saw a wind gust over a certain threshold.
90 km/h: March 12, 2024 - 93 km/h
100 km/h: Jan. 19, 2024 - 102 km/h
120 km/h: Feb. 18, 2022 - 120 km/h
140 km/h – Sept. 10, 2021 - 145 km/h (Hurricane Larry)
Needless to say, bomb cyclone or not, power outages and tree damage are possible. Ensure all devices are properly charged.
Wave heights offshore are forecast to reach a significant wave height of nine metres just off the coast of the Avalon. A significant wave height is the average of the one-third of largest waves. Some waves can be twice as high as that metric.
Stay with The Weather Network for all the latest on conditions across Atlantic Canada.
