Go Back
Gushing rain, flooding to continue as atmospheric river slowly shifts in Northwest Chevron right
Powerful weekend storm to bring rain, possible snow to millions in East. Click for details. Chevron right

Ashburn, VA

40°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

40°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings Let's Chat
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Video

Winter Center

Top Stories AccuWeather Early AccuWeather Prime Astronomy Climate Travel Health Recreation Business Sports

News / Hurricane

Fiona ravages Atlantic Canada with structural damage, mass power outages

By Thomas Leffler, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Sep 24, 2022 2:18 PM EST | Updated Sep 26, 2022 4:46 AM EST

Copied

The wrath of Fiona lived up to its AccuWeather forecast as one of the strongest storms on record to impact Canada. Making landfall Friday, the storm caused major structural damage to communities and forced over half a million power outages across the region.

After bombarding Prince Edward Island, eastern Nova Scotia, western Newfoundland and southeastern Labrador on Friday, Fiona turned its attention to southwestern Newfoundland Saturday. Early Saturday morning, at least one building washed away due to the storm in Port aux Basques, and several others were damaged by tides approaching residences in the area. Some residents fled parts of the community impacted by flooding while washed-out roads cut off the town completely from certain sectors.

The storm took the path to Atlantic Canada after stops in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos and other parts of the Caribbean.

The town of Port Aux Basques in southwestern Newfoundland was ravaged by Fiona, leaving structures severely damaged. (Photo courtesy Kiel Williams/Reuters)

A scary scene in the Port aux Basques community unfolded Saturday morning, as residents could see what appeared to be a large quantity of gasoline on the streets.

In an interview on Saturday morning with CBC Radio One, Port aux Basques town manager Leon MacIsaac stated that he had previously warned locals about Fiona's potential impacts on the community.

GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

  •  Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+

"Due to the most recent forecast and likelihood that the sea is going to be much higher than we originally anticipated, we thought it would be prudent to contact as many residents as we could near the south-facing coast," MacIsaac said.

In Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and Victoria County declared a state of local emergency Saturday morning, with officials asking residents to shelter in place. Multiple roads in the vicinity were deemed impassable after Fiona's landfall, and emergency crews have been out responding to those who either lost their roof or had trees collide with houses.

Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia Saturday, sending the streets into disarray. (Photo via Reuters)

Rampant power outages were triggered due to Fiona's landfall, with roughly 205,000 residents of Nova Scotia without power as of Monday morning, which is around 40 percent of the province's population. The outages also reached more than 80,000 for Prince Edward Island, while neighboring New Brunswick had more than 13,000 without power early Monday.

Early Saturday morning, Fiona finally made landfall along Nova Scotia's Canso Peninsula with sustained winds up to 100 mph, the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane.

Downed trees were common across Nova Scotia after Fiona's landfall on Friday. (Photo via Reuters)

Some of the highest wind gusts in Atlantic Canada thus far were noted in Arisaig, Nova Scotia (111 mph); Grand Etang Harbour, Nova Scotia (104 mph); and Wreckhouse, Nova Scotia (103 mph). The winds extended outward about 115 miles (185 km) from the center of the storm, and tropical-storm-force winds extended 405 miles (605 km).

An unconfirmed report from Hart Island, Nova Scotia, recorded the lowest air pressure in Canadian history. If confirmed, this report would certainly be momentous and would show how unusually powerful Fiona managed to become. The National Weather Service's Ocean Prediction Center pegged Fiona near landfall at 933 millibars, which would comfortably break the all-time pressure record in Canada of 940.2 millibars.

Top rainfall totals in Nova Scotia Sunday, over a 72-hour period, were reported in Big Intervale (8.25 inches), Moose Lake (7.3 inches), North Mountain (6.86 inches) and Port Hawkesbury (6.38 inches).

READ MORE HERE:

Latest hurricane danger could plot an ‘unusual track’ toward Florida
Hurricane season: A handy guide for beginners

Track these severe weather conditions and more with the AccuWeather app. For next-level safety, unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+. These advanced, hyperlocal notifications are prompted by our expert meteorologists and are often delivered much further ahead of government warnings when possible.

Report a Typo

Top Stories

Severe Weather

Powerful weekend storm to bring rain, possible snow to millions

Dec. 6, 2023
Recreation

Why tornadoes and lightning strikes are a rare combination

Dec. 1, 2023
Weather News

No shortage of Christmas trees this year, but they may be costly

Dec. 5, 2023
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

Top Stories

AccuWeather Early

AccuWeather Prime

Astronomy

Climate

Travel

Health

Recreation

Business

Sports

Top Stories

Severe Weather

Powerful weekend storm to bring rain, possible snow to millions

4 hours ago

Weather News

Woman paddleboarding near Bahamas resort killed in shark attack

1 day ago

Severe Weather

Severe thunderstorms set to threaten millions this weekend

4 hours ago

Weather News

13 climbers killed, 10 missing following Indonesian volcano eruption

20 hours ago

Weather Forecasts

Gushing rain, flooding to continue as atmospheric river slowly shifts

46 minutes ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Weather News

Fifth person found dead after Alaska landslide, boy still missing

2 days ago

Weather News

Turkey prices are down. A deadly bird flu could change that

1 day ago

Severe Weather

More than 300 killed as heavy rains wreak havoc across East Africa

1 day ago

Weather News

Before birds appeared, mystery animals walked on birdlike feet

1 day ago

Climate

What is COP28? The UN climate summit, explained

1 day ago

AccuWeather Hurricane Fiona ravages Atlantic Canada with structural damage, mass power outages
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2023 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information checkmark Confirmed Not Selling Your Data

We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

I Understand

Get AccuWeather alerts as they happen with our browser notifications.

Notifications Enabled

Thanks! We’ll keep you informed.

Let's Chat –
AccuAssistant™
ComScore