Hurricane Ernesto expected to pass through Atlantic Canada, but may escape worst-case scenario: forecasters

Hurricane Ernesto is expected to pass Bermuda and make its way south of the Maritimes on Monday, then approach Newfoundland and Labrador later that day, a Canadian meteorological expert advised on Friday.

In a press briefing from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Bob Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist with the Canadian Hurricane Centre, said Hurricane Ernesto is 1,600 kilometres south-southwest of Halifax and had maximum winds of 155 km/h. It is currently moving north-northeast at 22 km/h.

Robichaud warned that the main impacts in the affected areas may be waves peaking at 10 metres overnight from Monday into Tuesday. Coastal structural damage and some coastal erosion may also be expected, as well as increasingly hazardous surf and rip currents.

ECCC warned beachgoers and sightseers to exercise caution and to avoid the shores.

The expert said some wind and rain will be expected, but Canadians may be "escaping the worst case scenario."

Large swaths of N.S. are under a severe thunderstorm warning, according to Environment Canada, with a potential rainfall rate of 25 to 30 mm per hour. The agency warns that heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.

Hurricane Ernesto is currently a Category 2 storm charging towards Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean and will pass near or over the territory on Saturday morning. The conditions of the tropical storm include life-threatening floods, according to the National Hurricane Center in the U.S.

On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico were left without power or water as the hurricane barrelled through the country.