It’s October and tropical storm season is still going strong in the Atlantic Basin. Tropical Storm Philippe has formed north of Puerto Rico, with torrential rains expected as it heads north to Bermuda. The storm will be steered by high pressure to the north and an incoming trough of low pressure to the west.
This setup will allow the storm to be absorbed by a cold front as it heads north into Maine and Atlantic Canada this weekend with heavy rain, wind and waves.
Spaghetti model tracks for Philippe take it north over Bermuda in a couple of days while it picks up speed from the advancing trough to the west.
The consensus takes the storm over the Gulf Stream late Friday into Saturday, then it gets cut off from its fuel source of warm water.
The storm will hold intensity and head north towards Bermuda soon.
There will be impacts to Maine and Atlantic Canada in the threat zone highlighted.
Weekend travel and outdoor activities will be impacted due to the rain and wind although the exact track isn’t known yet. It is unlikely the storm will still hold tropical characteristics when it gets into the Gulf of Maine.
The influence of the trough will give the storm a shot of energy and heavy rain is expected on the west and northern side of the extratropical cyclone.
Waves will be in the 10- to 20-foot range near shore, especially for mid coast to Down East and Nova Scotia.
Either way, the storm will be moving through New England and Canada by the weekend, so keep an eye out for more updates later this week.
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