Hurricanes: frequently asked questions

Get Hurricane updates

The Canadian Hurricane Centre gives you the most recent and correct hurricane forecasts. You can get live updates on where hurricanes are going.

You can also get weather updates in these ways:

Sign up to get storm messages, including tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings
Download the free WeatherCAN weather app from Environment and Climate Change Canada
View the weather radar map from Environment and Climate Change Canada's Weather Office.

Stay safe during a hurricane

Hurricane season is June 1 - November 30 in Atlantic Canada. August and September have the most storms.

How to get ready for a hurricane near you

Listen to the advice from your local and provincial emergency groups
Prepare for what will happen before, during, and after a hurricane
Follow live hurricane updates from the Canadian Hurricane Centre
Learn how a hurricane warning and a hurricane watch are different

Flooding dangers

Tropical storms can bring over 100 mm of rain to some areas, and over 200 mm to others. Rain often falls very hard and fast. Roads can wash out, basements can flood, and streams and rivers can overflow in places with the most rain.

Safety risks near a hurricane

If a hurricane gets close to your area, you can feel very strong winds even if the hurricane stays out over the ocean. If a hurricane stays far out at sea from your area, you can still get a lot of heavy rain. This rain can cause floods in local areas.

Dangers of a post-tropical storm

Some storms, after they become "post-tropical," can keep their strength or even get stronger as they move north toward Canada. These storms bring warm air and moisture from the tropics. This can make them much worse than a normal fall storm.

Understand hurricane alerts

We send out different kinds of weather alerts depending on the storm. Find out more about hurricane alerts.

Tropical storm watch

This is a public message that says tropical storm conditions:

may happen within 36 hours
are for a certain area
have steady winds between 63-118 km/h

Tropical storm warning

This is a public message that says tropical storm conditions:

will happen within 24 hours
are for a certain area
have steady winds between 63-118 km/h
bring heavy rain, so local floods are likely

Hurricane watch

This is a public message that says hurricane conditions:

may happen within 36 hours
are for a certain area
have average steady winds of at least 119 km/h
might cause very high water levels or waves

Hurricane warning

This is a public message that says hurricane conditions can happen even if the winds are not hurricane strength. In these cases, a hurricane brings the danger of local floods from heavy rain. These conditions:

will happen in 24 hours or less
are for a certain area
will likely cause one or both of these dangers:
- average steady winds of at least 119 km/h
- very high water levels or very big waves

Tropical storm messages (Bulletins)

they give details about the forecast and wind speeds
once we expect a storm to hit Canada or Canadian waters within 72 hours, we send them out every 6 hours
we send them out at 9:00 p.m., 3:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m. Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT)

Intermediate messages (Bulletins)

they tell you the storm's spot, how it moves, and how strong it is
we use them in addition to regular messages when a storm starts to hit Canada or Canadian waters hard
we send them out at 6:00 p.m., 12:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m., and 12:00 p.m. Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT)

How accurate are hurricane forecasts

Often, one out of four storms that we expect to hit land actually stay far enough away that they do not cause much harm. Sometimes, how a storm affects a specific place can be different than we expect because of things like the local landscape.

On average:

12-hour forecasts for the storm's center spot are correct within 70 km
24-hour forecasts are correct within 100 km
36-hour forecasts are correct within 150 km
48-hour forecasts are correct within about 200 km

For example, a 48-hour forecast for the center of a storm might cover most of the Maritime Provinces.

How hurricane intensity is measured

We use the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to put hurricanes into five groups based on their wind speed:

Category 1: Steady winds of 119-153 km/hr
Category 2: Steady winds of 154-177 km/hr
Category 3: Steady winds of 178-209 km/hr
Category 4: Steady winds of 210-249 km/hr
Category 5: Steady winds of more than 249 km/hr

The storm's category does not tell you:

how "bad" a storm will be
how much damage it will cause
how much rain it will bring

Instead, how a storm affects an area depends on:

the local landscape
how easily a certain area can be hurt by the storm
what the weather was like before the storm

Hurricanes that are Category 3 or stronger have never hit land in Canada. But, we have measured waves in Canadian waters that were higher than what a Category 3 or stronger hurricane usually makes in warmer places.

How we figure out storm wind speeds

We figure out wind speeds based on how fast the storm moves forward and how the wind spins counter-clockwise around the storm's center at any point.

Storm surge and tide

Storm surge is when a storm makes the water rise much higher than the normal tides.
Storm tide happens when the water level rises because of both storm surge and the normal tide. This higher water can cause huge floods and a lot of damage in coastal areas, especially when storm surge happens at the same time as high tide.

Warm summers and hurricane season

A warm Canadian summer does not directly cause hurricanes here. However, if a warm summer makes the water warmer than usual, then a tropical storm or hurricane that travels over these warmer waters can become stronger.

Important storm and hurricane words

Tropical cyclone: This is a general word for storms that start in warm, tropical areas. It can mean hurricanes, tropical storms, and storms of different strengths.

Hurricane: This is a tropical cyclone with top steady wind speeds of at least 119 km/h.

Tropical storm: This is a tropical cyclone that has top steady wind speeds between 63 and 118 km/h.

For more storm words, see the weather and meteorology glossary for:

Hurricanes and the tide cycle

Hurricanes can happen at any point in the tide cycle. If a hurricane hits near low tide and has a big storm surge, the total water level might just look like a normal high tide.

How hurricanes affect Canada

Since 1950, 30 hurricanes or strong "post-tropical" storms have hit land in Canada. This is about one every 2 to 3 years. Tropical or post-tropical storms of any strength move over land in Canada at a rate of 1 to 2 storms each year.

Category 3 hurricanes or stronger

A hurricane stronger than Category 3 (Hurricane Katrina was a Category 5) could happen in Canada. However, we have never recorded or confirmed one. Our ocean water temperatures make them very rare. Even when Canadian waters are warmer than normal, they are still too cold to keep such a strong storm going.

In the future, a Category 3 hurricane might not be impossible. Experts believe that if a Category 5 hurricane travels as far north as Bermuda and then moves quickly north toward Atlantic Canada, it could reach land with Category 3 winds.

Parts of Canada most affected by hurricanes

Atlantic Canada is not the only area hurricanes affect. Parts of central Canada can also get strong winds and very heavy rain when hurricanes move through the United States after coming inland from the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricanes and typhoons in the Pacific Ocean can give energy to storms that affect British Columbia. This leads to more wind and rain there.

Climate Change and hurricanes

Scientists have found that extreme rain, land and ocean surface temperatures, and sea levels will all keep rising in Atlantic Canada in the future. With a warmer climate and more extreme rain in Atlantic Canada, hurricanes that reach the region will likely be stronger, wetter, and tend to travel further north. This brings the chance of more damaging winds, storm surges, and floods than we have seen so far.

Overall, scientists see a sign that the number of Category 3-5 hurricanes around the world has grown over the last 40 years. With climate change, the strongest hurricanes around the world will likely get stronger. As sea levels rise in most areas and more buildings go up near the water's edge, it is very likely that the money damage from these storms will increase.

The most damaging hurricanes to hit Canada

Fiona

Severe Post-Tropical Storm Fiona hit land in eastern Nova Scotia in late September 2022. It was the most damaging storm of any kind in Atlantic Canadian history. Fiona's strength when it hit land was Category 2, and we measured its top winds at 179 km/h. The storm's central air pressure when it hit land was 930 hectopascals, which broke the Canada-wide record of 940 hectopascals set in the 1970s. Fiona caused widespread forest blowdown, destructive storm surge and waves, and over 800 million dollars in insured damages. One direct and two indirect fatalities occurred in Canada. The storm surge around Prince Edward Island and northern Nova Scotia reached nearly 2 meters. Waves that were 5 stories high caused huge damage in southwestern Newfoundland and Labrador.

Igor

Hurricane Igor, a Category 1 storm, hit in September 2010. Officials declared a state of emergency in about 30 communities in Newfoundland. Igor brought wind gusts of almost 140 km/h and over 200 mm of rain in some places. Very bad river flooding over the whole eastern part of Newfoundland and Labrador washed away many bridges and left huge holes in most major roads.

This storm caused one death and created big problems for several weeks after the storm. With total damage of about $200 million, Igor was one of the most damaging tropical storms to hit Newfoundland and Labrador in recent times.

Juan

In 2003, Hurricane Juan arrived. The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) declared a state of emergency hours after it hit. People called Juan the worst storm to hit Halifax since 1893. The nearly 160 km/hr steady winds caused widespread damage to buildings and trees across the region, especially in the HRM.

Thousands of fallen trees blocked streets and knocked down power lines. Canadian military members came in to help with the cleanup. Thousands of homes and businesses suffered property damage, and some weaker buildings were destroyed. Juan's path resulted in eight deaths and over $300 million in damage.

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2026-03-30

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