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Kyle triggers Maine's first hurricane watch in 17 years
Hurricane Kyle raced towards Nova Scotia and the Gulf of Maine early on Sunday, triggering Maine's first hurricane watch in 17 years as it roared over the Atlantic off New Jersey on a northward trek that threatened to bring flooding and damaging winds inland.
- AP
- Published: 19:47 September 28, 2008
Eastport, Maine: Hurricane Kyle raced towards Nova Scotia and the Gulf of Maine early on Sunday, triggering Maine's first hurricane watch in 17 years as it roared over the Atlantic off New Jersey on a northward trek that threatened to bring flooding and damaging winds inland.
Kyle could make landfall in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, possibly late yesterday, according the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.
A hurricane watch was issued for southwestern Nova Scotia, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for southern New Brunswick.
More intense
Forecasters also issued a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch Saturday for parts of coastal Maine.
"Since Saturday, it has picked up in intensity, but it has also stabilised," said Joseph Hewitt, a Maine-based senior forecaster for the National Weather Service.
He said Kyle's track was expected to continue northward and start to veer in a northeasterly direction toward Maine, then through the Bay of Fundy to Nova Scotia.
Authorities expect wind gusts in Maine to reach up to 96 kph and waves up to 20 feet, Robert McAleer, Maine Emergency Management Agency director said. People living on coastal islands were advised to evacuate if they depend on electricity for medical reasons, because ferry service would probably shut down yesterday, McAleer said.
Significant power failures on the north coastal region of the state were also expected, he said.
"There's going to be some beach erosion," he said. "Our southern coastline is susceptible to beach erosion; the northern coastline is more rocky." McAleer warned that coastal flooding could be a problem and said some hospitals in vulnerable areas had started sandbagging. Another major threat is small stream flooding, he said.
"We urge everyone to pay close attention to weather warnings and stay away from any flooded roadways or fast-running streams," he said.
It was Maine's first hurricane watch in 17 years, the National Weather Service said. Elsewhere in New England, a hurricane warning was posted for Nantucket Island off the coast of Massachusetts in Sep-tember 1996, according to the Weather Service office in Taunton, Massachusetts.
"Expectations are that it will start to weaken as it comes into the cold waters by Sunday [yesterday] evening," Hewitt said.
Coast of Maine
Kyle's centre was forecast to pass east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and approach the coast of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes last night or early yesterday, the Hurricane Centre said.
All told, weather watches or warnings stretched along the entire Maine coast.
Kyle was expected to trigger tides of 1 to 2 feet above normal, accompanied by large, damaging waves, the Hurricane Centre said.
Miami: Eye of the storm
At 0600 GMT (10am UAE time) yesterday, Kyle was centred about 330km southeast of Nantucket, according to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami.
With top sustained winds of almost 120 kph, the Category 1 hurricane was moving over the open Atlantic at 38 km/h.
- AP
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