Hurricane Larry made landfall on eastern Newfoundland overnight as a Category 1 storm, knocking out power throughout St. John’s and the surrounding area in a short, sharp wallop of heavy winds, torrential rains and an unexpectedly high storm surge.
Hurricane Larry made landfall on eastern Newfoundland overnight as a Category 1 storm, knocking out power throughout St. John’s and the surrounding area in a short, sharp wallop of heavy winds, torrential rains and an unexpectedly high storm surge.
Hurricane warnings that had been in place for the Avalon Peninsula were ended at around 5 a.m. NT, though wind warnings were still in effect for some areas, including the capital.
As of 3:14 NT, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h, with gusts surpassing 180km/h in exposed and elevated areas. Cape St. Mary’s lighthouse reported a peak gust of 182 km/h on Friday evening.
“That is a huge, huge wind gust,” CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said Saturday morning.
Roughly 60,000 customers are without power as of 6:50 a.m. NT and social media posts appeared to show damage to structures including a concert tent and Mary Queen of Peace Elementary School in St. John’s.
The Newfoundland Power website is reporting customers are without power across eastern Newfoundland. Areas without power include St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Whitbourne and the Burin Peninsula.
Argentia waters 1.5-metres higher than normal
The latest tropical cyclone information statement from Environment Canada said a “notable” storm surge event occurred near the Burin Peninsula and Avalon Peninsula.
The tide gauge at Argentia showed a peak water level about 150 centimetres higher than normal, the update said.
Rain was short-lived but intense, with about 30 millimetres falling “in a very short period of time.”
The statement said Larry made landfall at 1:30 a.m. NT just west of Long Harbour, N.L., on the Avalon Peninsula.
Winds tapering
Just before 3 a.m., reports on social media showed that the performance tent near Quidi Vidi Lake in place for the Iceberg Alley concert festival had suffered extensive damage.
Iceberg Alley cancelled its planned April Wine concert on Friday evening due to the storm.
The roof of Mary Queen of Peace Elementary has fallen victim to Larry. #nlwx #nltraffic #HurricaneLarry #LarryNL #yyt pic.twitter.com/6RgwQtPEMC
—@jasrose__
Newfoundland Power will have its full workforce out repairing damage today, and people are advised to remain in their homes so crews can easily access damaged areas.
Winds have gradually tapered off over the past few hours, but Snoddon said winds will continue to gust between 70 and 80 km/h for the morning across the east and northeast portion of the island before easing throughout the afternoon to gusts of 60 to 70 km/h with a mix of sun and cloud.
Winds will continue to ease this evening and overnight, said Snoddon, and the forecast looks good for Sunday.
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