Environment Canada Is Warning Of Severe Impacts As Hurricane Fiona Speeds North

Hurricane Fiona has been wreaking havoc across the Atlantic Ocean, striking Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos last week. Now a category four hurricane, the storm has its sights set on Bermuda before potentially moving to eastern Canada.

Environment Canada (EC) has released a series of special statements ahead of the hurricane's expected landfall in Atlantic Canada on Friday.

The federal weather agency says the storm is "shaping up to be a potentially severe event" for the region. It's warning residents to brace for heavy rainfall, strong winds and high waves.

Large swaths of eastern Canada are subject to EC's tropical cyclone statement. They include:

• All of Prince Edward Island;
• The following areas in Quebec:
  • Anticosti
  • Blanc-Sablon
  • Chevery
  • Forillon National Park, Gaspé and Percé
  • Grande-Vallée area
  • Îles-de-la-Madeleine
  • Minganie
  • Murdochville area
  • Natashquan
  • New Carlisle and Chandler
  • New Richmond and the Bonaventure area
• The following areas in New Brunswick:
  • Acadian Peninsula
  • Bathurst and the Chaleur Region
  • Kent County
  • Kouchibouguac National Park
  • Miramichi and its surrounding area
  • Moncton and southeast New Brunswick
• All of Newfoundland;
• The following areas in Labrador:
  • From Cartwright to Black Tickle
  • From Norman's Bay to Lodge Bay
  • From Red Bay to L'Anse-au-Clair
• And the following areas in Nova Scotia:
  • Annapolis County
  • Antigonish County
  • Colchester County and Cobequid Bay
  • Colchester County, Truro and areas to the south
  • Colchester County North
  • Cumberland County and Minas Shore
  • Cumberland County North and Cobequid Pass
  • Guysborough County
  • Halifax County, east of Porters Lake
  • Halifax metro area and Halifax County West
  • Hants County
  • Inverness County, Mabou and north
  • Inverness County, south of Mabou
  • Kings County
  • Lunenburg County
  • Pictou County
  • Queens County
  • Richmond County
  • Sydney metro area and Cape Breton County
  • Victoria County.

EC expects the storm to "become very large." It recommends that residents check for updates "at least daily" for forecast updates.

Per EC's hurricane tracker, winds could reach 175 km/h as the storm passes over Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and between 100 and 130 km/h as it passes over Newfoundland and Quebec's Côte-Nord region.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.