Fiona rushes at Atlantic Canada with strong rains and wind

Strong rains and winds lashed the Atlantic Canada portion arsenic Fiona closed successful aboriginal Saturday arsenic a big, almighty post-tropical cyclone, and Canadian forecasters warned it could beryllium 1 of the astir terrible storms successful the country's history.

Fiona transformed from a hurricane into a post-tropical tempest precocious Friday, but meteorologists cautioned that it inactive could person hurricane-strength winds and would bring drenching rains and immense waves.

More than 250,000 Nova Scotia Power customers — astir fractional of each customers successful the state — were affected by outages conscionable past 1 a.m. section time. The tally roseate by different 28,000 by the extremity of the hour.

The fast-moving Fiona was forecast to marque landfall successful Nova Scotia earlier dawn Saturday, with its powerfulness down from the Category 4 spot it had aboriginal Friday erstwhile passing by Bermuda, though officials determination reported nary superior damage.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre issued a hurricane ticker for coastal expanses of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Fiona should scope the country arsenic a "large and almighty post-tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds."

"It's going to a atrocious one," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who decided to hold his travel to Japan for the ceremonial for assassinated erstwhile Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We of people anticipation determination won't beryllium overmuch needed, but we consciousness determination astir apt volition be," Trudeau said. "Listen to the instructions of section authorities and bent successful determination for the adjacent 24 hours."

The U.S. hurricane halfway said Fiona was astatine Category 2 spot precocious Friday, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (169 kph). It was centered astir 140 miles (220 kilometers) southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, heading northeast astatine 46 mph (74 kph).

Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 185 miles (300 kilometers) from the halfway and tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 345 miles (555 kilometers).

"This is decidedly going to beryllium 1 of, if not the astir almighty tropical cyclones to impact our portion of the country," said Ian Hubbard, meteorologist for the Canadian Hurricane Centre successful Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. "It's going to beryllium decidedly arsenic terrible and arsenic atrocious arsenic immoderate I've seen."

Hubbard said the tempest was weakening arsenic it moved implicit cooler water, and helium felt it highly improbable it would scope onshore with hurricane strength.

Hurricanes successful Canada are somewhat rare, successful portion due to the fact that erstwhile the storms scope colder waters, they suffer their main root of energy. But post-tropical cyclones inactive tin person hurricane-strength winds, though they person a acold halfway and nary disposable eye. They besides often suffer their symmetric signifier and much lucifer a comma.

"Still holding strong. But it's getting precise scary," Amanda McDougall, politician of Cape Breton Regional Municipality, told The Associated Press.

People successful the country rushed to banal up essentials and worked to stormproof their properties Friday.

At Samsons Enterprises boatyard successful the tiny Acadian assemblage of Petit-de-Grat connected Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island, Jordan David helped his person Kyle Boudreau necktie down Boudreau's lobster vessel "Bad Influence."

"All we tin bash is anticipation for the champion and hole arsenic champion we can. There's thing coming, and conscionable however atrocious is yet to beryllium determined," said David, wearing his outdoor waterproof gear.

Bob Robichaud, Warning Preparedness Meteorologist for the Canadian Hurricane Centre, said Fiona was shaping up to beryllium a bigger tempest strategy than Hurricane Juan, which caused extended harm to the Halifax country successful 2003.

He added that Fiona is astir the aforesaid size arsenic post-tropical tempest Dorian successful 2019. "But it is stronger than Dorian was," helium said. "It's surely going to beryllium an historic, utmost lawsuit for eastbound Canada."

Christina Lamey, a spokesperson for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, said the Centre 200 sports arena successful Sydney was being opened Friday nighttime to instrumentality successful residents who wanted to evacuate from their homes during the storm. Halifax said it would unfastened 4 evacuation centers.

Officials connected Prince Edward Island sent retired an exigency alert to phones informing of the imaginable for terrible flooding connected the bluish enactment of the province. "Immediate efforts should beryllium taken to support belongings. Avoid shorelines, waves are highly dangerous. Residents successful those regions should beryllium prepared to determination retired if needed," the alert read.

Authorities successful Nova Scotia besides sent an exigency alert to phones informing of Fiona's accomplishment and urging radical to accidental inside, debar the shore, complaint devices and person capable supplies for astatine slightest 72 hours. Officials warned of prolonged powerfulness outages, upwind harm to trees and structures and coastal flooding and imaginable roadworthy washouts.

Fiona truthful acold has been blamed for astatine slightest 5 deaths — 2 in Puerto Rico, 2 successful the Dominican Republic and 1 successful the French land of Guadeloupe.

Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center said recently formed Tropical Storm Ian successful the Caribbean was expected to support strengthening and deed Cuba aboriginal Tuesday arsenic a hurricane and past deed confederate Florida aboriginal Wednesday.

It was centered astir 385 miles (620 kilometers) southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving west-northwest astatine 12 mph (19 kph). A hurricane ticker was issued for the Cayman Islands.