Hurricane Maria hits Newfoundland as Category 1

Hurricane Maria didn’t live up to its expectations when it made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Avalon Peninsula area of Newfoundland on Sept. 16.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) predicted on Sept. 15 that Maria’s highest winds would pass through the Avalon Peninsula with wind gusts of 100 km-h in the warning area, and 120 km-h or higher in the watch area.

But on Sept. 16, the CHC issued a bulletin saying the region had been spared the worst of the storm, as strongest winds were to the right of the track/centre. The highest winds were far enough from the centre at landfall that they did not pass over land, the CHC noted.

Winds did gust to 100 km-h in a few exposed locations around Avalon, with a peak wind of 103 km-h reported near Cape Pine, the CHC reports.

Rainfall totalled about 60 mm on the Burin Peninsula and the South Coast, with St. Lawrence receiving 63 mm and Burgeo registering 61 mm. Only 13 mm fell over St. John’s.

“The storm’s very fast speed of travel helped to reduce the total rainfall,” CHC reports.

Catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide issued a bulletin on Sept. 17 indicating no reports of damage.

Maria was named a tropical storm on Sept. 8, when it was located about 1,000 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands. Despite a long journey north, it only became a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mp-h winds on Sept. 15, AIR reports.