How did Lee compare to previous storms?
Lee caused damage, but not as much as some in the past
Post-tropical storm Lee certainly packed a punch when it rolled through the Maritimes this past weekend.
More than 200,000 customers were left without power across the region as Lee brought widespread wind gusts over 70 km/h in New Brunswick, P.E.I. and northern Nova Scotia.
Lee also brought pounding surf and storm surge. Large waves of five to seven metres, along with high tide, led to some coastal flooding along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia.
The storm also brought heavy rainfall.
Widespread rainfall amounts of 50 to 100 millimetres were reported across New Brunswick, with amounts of 100 to 120 millimetres reported in Fredericton and Chamcook in the southwest.
How does Lee stack up to previous storms?
We, of course, have a very long history with post-tropical storms and hurricanes here in the Maritimes.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) historical hurricane tracker, we've seen 270 storms track within about 250 kilometres of the Maritimes since 1851.
That's a lot of storms to compare, however many from the past aren't well documented.
We do have a better documentation of some of the more destructive storms that have tracked through the region.
If we look at the storms over the past couple of decades, there are a few that had very similar tracks to Lee.
Arthur is a storm that was brought up to me a lot over the past few days.
The centre of that post-tropical storm just missed Brier Island before it made landfall east of Saint John in 2014.
While the tracks are similar, Arthur packed a greater and more widespread punch than Lee.
The heaviest rainfall amounts in New Brunswick were in the 150 to 200 millimetres range.
Winds were also stronger and more widespread, which led to more widespread damage.
The image galley below shows the impacts from Arthur.
Noel also had a similar track when it rolled in as a post-tropical storm in early November 2007.
While the heaviest rainfall amounts were fairly similar to Lee — 50 to 100 millimetres — Noel brought stronger top winds (up to 135 km/h at McNabs Island) and also had far greater impacts on the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia, with damage to many beaches.
While no two storms are exactly alike, the recent storm that stands out to me as the best comparable would be post-tropical storm Kyle in 2008.
That storm was similar in strength to Lee and made landfall near Yarmouth, N.S., in late September, before tracking through the Bay of Fundy and then across P.E.I.
In New Brunswick, the winds from Kyle weren't as high as they were during Lee, however the winds were very similar in Nova Scotia and P.E.I., with widespread gusts in the 60 to 90 km/h range and most peak gusts in the 90 to 110 km/h range.
The storm caused power outages and coastal flooding from combined storm surge and crashing waves in Nova Scotia's Shelburne and Yarmouth counties.
According to archives from Environment Canada, the storm resulted in damage to boats, docks, wharves. The hardest hit area was Shelburne County in Nova Scotia.
Are we finished comparing storms this year?
While there is nothing imminent on our doorstep over the next week or so, unfortunately we are still just over half way through the heart of hurricane season.
So while there is light at the end of the tunnel, we aren't out of the woods yet.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
