After dropping two feet of rain in parts of Puerto Rico, knocking out the power grid, flattening their dietary staples of plantain, banana, coffee, and papaya, and leaving half the island without fresh water, the powerful storm moved over the Turks and Caicos, Bermuda, and then Canada.
Two-thirds of Nova Scotia residents lost their power, and Prince Edward Island lost 100 percent of its power due to the warm atmospheric river.
The storm no longer has tropical characteristics and is now a sub-tropical cyclone. It was described as the ‘most intense landfalling system’ in Canadian history in terms of pressure. Fiona was the strongest storm to ever barrel over Canada. It brought high winds, dangerous ice-cold storm surges, and close to a foot of rain. Flooding occurred as well as large, destructive eighty-foot high surf pounding the coastline.
Tomorrow morning the remnants of Fiona will cross over the edges of southwestern Greenland. Already, a warm and moisture-laden air mass ahead of the storm is melting the ice sheet. The storm continues to hold its core together despite crossing from the warm Atlantic toward colder water near Greenland.
Fiona’s remnants have already triggered another major September melt event in the world’s air conditioner. Inches of rainfall is expected to fall on the ice sheet, and glaciologist Jason Box noted that there will be thundershower conditions previously unknown on the ice sheet. Further north heavy snowfall will fall on the expansive ice stream, adding surface mass to Greenland.
This video is not as complicated as you might expect. Dr. Box explains the impacts on Greenland in the coming days as the vortex draws heat and moisture to the higher elevations.
Updates in the coming days.
To my friends in Florida and Cuba, I am thinking of you as a potential major category-four storm approaches. Stay as safe as possible.