Hurricane Bill lost some strength as it bore down on Nova Scotia on Saturday, prompting the U.S. National Hurricane Center to downgrade the storm to a Category 1 hurricane.
The storm's maximum sustained winds had weakened to 140 km/h, with higher gusts. Bill's hurricane-strength winds extend out 140 kilometres from its centre.
At 9 p.m. AT, Bill was about 696 kilometres south-southeast of Yarmouth, N.S.
The U.S. forecasting centre said further weakening is expected for Sunday as the storm moves over cooler waters.
The storm will likely cut a swath as large as 750 kilometres wide, officials at the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Saturday afternoon.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the Atlantic coastal regions of Nova Scotia, from Shelburne County to Guysborough County. Other counties in Nova Scotia were under rainfall warnings.
A tropical storm warning means that sustained winds of 65 km/h are expected in those regions within the next day and implies the threat of local flooding from heavy rainfall.
Guysborough County and regions of southern Cape Breton have been placed under a hurricane watch, meaning that a hurricane poses a possible threat to those areas within the next 36 hours.
But officials are still taking a wait-and-see approach before forecasting specifics of when, where and how Bill might hit.
"At this point, it's still not possible to give the specifics that everybody wants," said Peter Bowyer, the Canadian Hurricane Centre's program manager. "That's the nature of this business."
Moving north-northeast at about 37 km/h, the storm is expected to pass south of mainland Nova Scotia on Sunday morning, move by Cape Breton Island late Sunday afternoon or evening and blow over southeastern Newfoundland late Sunday or early Monday.
Buckets of rain
Coastal areas of Nova Scotia can expect winds of 90 km/h, while the southeast coast of Newfoundland should prepare for winds exceeding 120 km/h, the centre said.
Bowyer said the hardest-hit spots could see winds between 150 and 180 km/h, as well as buckets of rain.
"All indications now are that we're probably looking at a rain event for those that get the hardest-hit rainfall amounts on the order of 100 to 150 millimetres. That could, depending on the track, be anywhere from southern New Brunswick all the way over to Newfoundland," he said.
For people out at sea Sunday, he added, it's going to be "a very harsh environment."
The first effects of Bill are expected to be felt along Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast on Saturday.
Canadian forecasters warned that a storm surge of up to one metre, coupled with heavy surf along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia and southern Newfoundland due to large waves of five to 10 metres, could erode shorelines, damage docks and produce dangerous rip currents.
Spectators were urged to keep well back from the shoreline due to rapidly advancing waves.
The coast could be a very dangerous place, Bowyer warned.
"In the past, when we've talked about these kind of waves, it's almost been like a fatal attraction to people to say, 'Let's get the kids in the car and go to the coast and see the big waves.' And we don't want anybody to be doing that," he said.
Emergency officials said it's a good time to take storm-season precautions, such as preparing an emergency kit with food, water and essential medications for 72 hours.
To guard against flooding, municipal workers will begin sandbagging areas of Halifax at midnight Saturday night, city officials say.
And the province planned to shut all provincial parks at 5 p.m. Saturday in preparation for the storm.
Ramona Jennex, Nova Scotia's minister responsible for emergency preparedness, said key people would be on hand during the weekend to ensure plans are in place to deal with the storm.
Getting ready
New Brunswick has just come off a warm and sunny streak and has showers in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.
Peter Coade, a CBC meteorologist, said people should not confuse that weather pattern with the big storm that is expected to hit the region on Sunday.
"We must not think, 'Hey that wasn't too bad a storm,' because you're not going to feel it until after daybreak Sunday," Coade said. "You'll see the rain before daybreak Sunday but the wind picking up during the day."
Coade said areas in southeastern New Brunswick, such as Shediac and Bouctouche, could have some soil erosion with a combination of wind and high tide on Sunday afternoon.
New Brunswick's Emergency Measures Organization issued a warning Friday afternoon indicating it was still difficult to forecast how big the storm would be when it hits the province.
"However, given Bill's size, significant rainfall and strong winds can be expected, especially in the southern half of the province, with the southeast corner most likely to see the strongest weather," the statement said.
Many people are heeding the call to be ready.
Based on Friday's forecast, Exxon Mobil has decided to evacuate workers from its offshore platform near Sable Island, off Nova Scotia's south coast.
In Sydney, David Isaac secured his commercial fishing boat and gear.
"One thing about a hurricane is you have to be prepared and ready — get all your stuff out of your yard, make sure everyone's secure," said Isaac.
At the Charlottetown Yacht Club — one of the places in P.E.I. hardest hit by Hurricane Juan in 2003 — few sailors were taking chances.
Rick Martijn bought his first boat just five weeks ago, and he said there was never any doubt that he'd pull it from the water.
"I was down here right after Juan blew over, and the destruction was incredible," Martijn said. "You've got to respect the wind and the waves. If you're a sailor, you'll very much appreciate that."
Grocery stores were expecting a hectic day Saturday and were stocking up on bottled water.
But getting warnings out to everyone who needs them is presenting special challenges on the Island, because it is the height of tourist season.
"Visitors may not be as interested in following the local media, as they are some distance from home," said Aaron Campbell, director of the P.E.I. Office of Public Safety. "So we're looking at various methods of getting this information out in whatever fashion is going to get to the most people."
Campbell's office is trying to get weather warning information to tourists, via tourist information centres and campgrounds. www.cbc.ca.
Ottawa International Poets and Writers for human Rights (OIPWHR)
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