Hurricane Fiona Barrels Toward Canada; New Caribbean Storm Threatens Southeast US

After battering Puerto Rico earlier this week with torrential rain and strong winds, Hurricane Fiona is now a Category 3 storm barreling towards northeastern Canada. There’s also a new tropical storm developing in the Caribbean and forecasted to become a threat to Southeast US next week. 

As of Friday morning, Fiona’s center was passing northwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm was downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane. 

Now Fiona sets sights on northeastern Canada, where hurricane warnings are in effect for Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Magdalen Islands, and the coast of Newfoundland. 

NHC forecasts the storm to be a “large and powerful post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds,” as it’s expected to make landfall across parts of Nova Scotia on Saturday. 

“This storm is shaping up to be a severe event for Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec,” the Canadian Hurricane Centre said on its website. 

Hurricanes making landfall in Canada are relatively rare because colder waters tend to weaken the storms. 

“This could be the storm of a lifetime for some people,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.

There are several fuel refineries in the storm’s path. 

GasBuddy chief petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan pointed out that a major refinery in New Brunswick is in the storm’s path. However, forecast models show that the storm will make landfall east of the facility. 

Fiona, now a large Cat 4, could hit Irving Oil’s 300kbpd refinery in New Brunswick, further straining East Coast diesel supplies.

— Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) September 22, 2022

Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Nine formed in the Caribbean Sea and could become a hurricane threat for the western Caribbean and Southeast US by mid-next week. 

Tropics are lighting up with activity as hurricane season peaked earlier this month. 

Fiona and Tropical Depression Nine are two storms to monitor into the weekend.