Mid-September Atlantic Canadian Hybridstorm, Including Hurricane Maria Update Four

WOCN31 CWHX 162345
Tropical cyclone information statement updated by the Canadian
Hurricane Centre of Environment Canada at 8:52 PM NDT Friday
16 September 2011.
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Tropical cyclone information statement for:
      Labrador
      Newfoundland.

      For post-tropical storm Maria.

      This is the final statement by the Canadian Hurricane Centre on
      This storm.

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==discussion==
Hurricane Maria made landfall as a category-one hurricane in the cape
st.  Mary's/Argentia area of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland
around 3:30/4:00 PM local time on Friday.  This was very close to the
forecast track issued late Thursday when it became apparent that the
centre of the storm was going to track farther to the west over land.
Strongest winds with the storm were to the right of its track/centre.
It turns out that the highest winds were far enough from the centre
at landfall that they did not pass over land.  The maximum wind jet
was just offshore to the east of the Avalon Peninsula.  High winds
and some tree damage was forecast for the Avalon region but in the
end was spared the worst of this storm.

The remnant eye of Maria covered most of Placentia Bay and up into
the Clarenville area before dusk on Friday.  Winds diminished to
light as the eye passed, then picked-up from the west as skies
clouded over again.

This storm was very much a close call for the island.  Offshore winds
at one of Environment Canada's buoys were blowing hurricane-force
(120-130 km/h) for at least 2 hours.  The buoy was situated about 180
kilometres to the right of the storm's track.  Narrow bands of cloud
in satellite images revealed that the high winds ended up tracking 50
to 80 kilometres east of Cape Race and St John's.  Had the centre of
Maria made landfall on the Burin Peninsula, these high winds would
have spread over the eastern part of the Avalon region.  Not only is
predicting the track of the storm a challenge, but so too is the
location of the maximum winds that were moving away from the storm
centre.  This is a well-known characteristic of hurricanes that make
the transition to post-tropical, but the rate at which those winds
shift away from the track is very difficult to even measure or
observe by weather satellites - especially over the ocean.

Winds did gust to 100 km/h at a few exposed locations around the
Avalon including a peak wind of 103 km/h at cape pine near st.
Shotts by a privately-run weather station.  Incidentally, this site
measured the highest gusts during hurricane igor of 172 km/h.
Cape Race had wind gusts to 100 km/h.  St. John's experienced wind
gusts near 80 km/h - much less than igor's 120 km/h almost a year
ago.

The storm surge was not significant - registering near 60 cm at
Argentia at low tide early Friday evening.  Since the storm was
moving so fast, there was little time for the wind to cause water to
pile-up in the bays.

Rainfall amounts were near 60 millimetres on the Burin Peninsula and
along the south coast.  St Lawrence received 63 millimetres and
Burgeo 61 millimetres.  Only 13 millimetres fell at St. John's due
partly to the dry air that moved into the centre of the hurricane as
it was undergoing transition to post-tropical.  Also the storm's very
fast speed of travel helped to reduce the total rainfall.

END/FOGARTY