The October 2000 Atlantic Canada storm complex was reported as the worst storm in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

in 30 years. Environment Canada considered as one of the ten most significant weather events in Canada in the year. It moved southeastward from Atlantic Canada in late October 2000, producing high snowfall totals in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. It absorbed an unnamed

subtropical cyclone A subtropical cyclone is a weather system that has some characteristics of both tropical and an extratropical cyclone. As early as the 1950s, meteorologists were uncertain whether they should be characterized as tropical or extratropical cyclon ...

, and remained nearly stationary in the

Gulf of Maine , image = , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = GulfofMaine2.jpg , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Major features of the Gulf of Maine , location = Northeast coast of the ...

for over a week. Some locations in Atlantic Canada reported record durations of continuous cloud cover. Daily amounts of rainfall produced flooding in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, while a high storm surge associated with the storm washed out roads in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and

. The storm produced wind gusts that peaked at 104 mph (168 km/h) in Newfoundland, and across the region there were scattered power outages.

Meteorological history

The coastal storm moved southward over southeastern Canada on October 28. Around the same time, a subtropical storm (a storm with both

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

extratropical Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable of p ...

characteristics) was moving northeastward in the western Atlantic Ocean. A powerful cold front moved eastward from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

and weakened the subtropical storm. The larger extratropical storm near Canada absorbed the previously subtropical storm on October 29, which remained stationary for over 24 hours near

. It later moved to the southwest before turning to the east in the

Gulf of Maine , image = , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = GulfofMaine2.jpg , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Major features of the Gulf of Maine , location = Northeast coast of the ...

on October 30. The system remained in the region for over a week, producing rainfall and cloudy skies across Atlantic Canada for an extended period of time.

Impact

Before affecting Canada with high winds and waves, the storm system produced heavy early-season snowfall totals in New England and southeastern Canada. In

Baxter State Park Baxter State Park is a large wilderness area permanently preserved as a state park in Northeast Piscataquis, Piscataquis County in north-central Maine, United States. It is in the North Maine Woods region and borders the Katahdin Woods and Wat ...

in northern Maine, snowfall totals reached . The combination of snow and wind gusts of broke tree limbs and caused power outages. Further south, winds of struck eastern Massachusetts, which downed several power poles; about 1,200 people lost power. Across Atlantic Canada, the extratropical storm produced strong winds, with a peak gust of 104 mph (168 km/h) recorded in Wreckhouse, Newfoundland and Labrador. Heavy rainfall was reported across the region, including over 6.30 in (160 mm) of precipitation in Nova Scotia. Cape Breton Island reported 19 days of rainfall and cloudy skies. Several cities in the region reported a record duration of continuously cloudy skies, as well as daily rainfall records. This prompted Environment Canada to list the storm as one of the top ten weather events in 2000. In addition, the storm produced record storm surges in eastern New Brunswick and northern Prince Edward Island, which caused significant flooding. Wave heights reached 46 ft (14 m) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The storm was the most damaging in the year in Atlantic Canada, with a damage total of $3 million (2000

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

). In Prince Edward Island, fishermen considered the storm the worst in over 30 years. In Nova Scotia, the high storm surge flooded the Cabot Trail in several locations, and in two cities coastal roads were washed out. Several days of persistent rainfall resulted in house flooding, sinkholes, and sewer backups. In neighboring New Brunswick, high winds left about 7,000 people without power along a 60 mi (100 km) portion of the coastline. High seas damaged wharves in

Miramichi Bay Miramichi Bay is an estuary located on the west coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick, at the mouth of the Miramichi River. Miramichi Bay is separated into the "inner bay" and the "outer bay", with the division being a line of uni ...

. In

Escuminac, New Brunswick Escuminac (2011 population: 212) is a rural community in Northumberland County, New Brunswick, Canada. The local service district of Escuminac takes its name from the community. Located on the south shore of Miramichi Bay, the community is ...

, the surge reached 7.94 ft (2.43 m), just shy of the record set in November 1988. The nor'easter occurred ten months after a similarly powerful storm struck the region. The October storm produced record river flooding from the combination of strong waves and winds, and likewise damaged coastal structures. The provincial government paid about $2.4 million in insurance claims due to the storm. Strong wind gusts in Prince Edward Island, reaching 73 mph (118 km/h), downed trees and damaged houses, causing power outages. Roads and bridges were closed across the island, while waves of 36 ft (11 m) in height capsized boats. The waves also caused beach erosion in the island which damaged at least eight highways. In Newfoundland, high winds caused a brief power outage in Corner Brook, and removed a house from its foundation in Stephenville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:October 2000 Atlantic Canada storm complex 2000 meteorology

Meteorological history

Impact

See also

References