Fall storm to hit Maritimes with high winds, rain expected

A fall storm will begin battering much of the Maritimes overnight with the remnants of tropical storm Philippe expected tobring high winds, rain and powerful surf.

Environment Canada has issued wind warnings for all of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and theAcadian Peninsula, GrandMananand parts of Charlotte County in New Brunswick.

A low-pressure system merging with what's left of Philippe is expected to intensify as it approaches New England and moves over the Maritimes overnight Sunday and into Monday.

Winds to 90 km/hour

MingSzeto, a meteorologist with the national weather service, says it will be "a fairly large fall storm."

"We're looking at rain and fairly strong winds affecting pretty much the whole Maritimes overnight tonight and tomorrow," he said.

Southeast windswillgust to 90 kilometres an hour Monday morning in western Nova Scotia. They'll be felt in Cape Breton around middayMonday andin P.E.I. on Monday afternoon, subsiding in the evening.

"High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break. Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions due to high winds," the wind warnings said.

Special weather statements are also in effect for much of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick due to the anticipated heavy rain.

The western half of the Maritimes will see the most rain with 20 to 30 millimetres expected. Between 10 and 20 millimetres could fall in areas further east, Szeto said.

Because the tidal cycle isn't at its peak, Szeto said storm surges should not be a problem but surf along the Atlantic coast will be powerful.