Eastern School District schools closed for the day

All Eastern School District schools are closed for the day due to the impact of tropical storm Leslie.

Leslie hammered the Avalon Peninsula area this morning causing damage to buildings and properties, closing roads, downing power lines and breaking poles.

About 50,000 people lost power.

Though the sun broke out, the wind kept causing havoc as roads were closed due to flying debris and people were urged to stay home if possible.

•••

Tropical storm Leslie continues to advance toward Newfoundland and has begun interacting with a slow-moving frontal trough over the maritimes, according to the latest weather bulletin issued by the Canadian Hurricane Centre this afternoon.

The trough is expected to accelerate and steer Leslie toward southeastern Newfoundland where it is expected to make landfall Tuesday morning with hurricane-force coastal gusts.

This will add to the amount of heavy rain already hitting much of western Newfoundland today. The strongest winds are expected to impact eastern areas of the province.

In addition, large, long period waves are forecast for southern Newfoundland. Waves of about four to seven metres are expected, increasing to eight to 12 metres for the Placentia Bay area.

There is a possibility of a hazardous storm surge in Placentia Bay and the Burin Peninsula region if Leslie accelerates tonight or very early morning to reach Newfoundland during high tide. As it stands now, it is expected to hit during low tide.

•••

The heaviest rains from tropical storm Leslie will hit western Newfoundland with 100 -150 mm in total downfall, according to the latest update from Environment Canada's Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax.

The west coast is already seeing heavy rain from an existing weather system ahead of Leslie.

Chris Fogarty, program supervisor, said Leslie will make landfall around 9 a.m. Tuesday on the Burin Peninsula.

The area of concern for heaviest rain is western Newfoundland, all the way up the Northern Peninsula, as Leslie merges with the stalled front, Fogarty said.

The Avalon region will see the highest winds, he said.

Tropical storm-force winds will reach a maximum 100 kilometres an hour with 130 kilometres an hour over the ocean.

Fogarty said there’s a large area the size of the island of Newfoundland off the coast that will see waves of eight metres high (20 feet). That extreme wave action will affect the coastline of the Burin Peninsula to the southern Avalon Peninsula — Placentia Bay in particular, he said.

Hurricane watches remain in effect for the Burin Peninsula, Bonavista and Avalon peninsulas.