Hurricane Fiona was a large, powerful, and destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane which was the costliest and most intense tropical or post-tropical cyclone to hit Canada on record. The sixth named storm, third hurricane and first major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, Fiona developed from a tropical wave that emerged from West Africa, before developing into a tropical depression east of the Leeward Islands on September 14, 2022.Â
On September 15, 2022, it was assigned the name Fiona, even though dry air and moderate to strong wind shear were still impacting the system. On September 16, 2022, Fiona passed over Guadeloupe as it entered the Caribbean Sea, where atmospheric conditions improved, and strengthened into a hurricane as it approached Puerto Rico two days later. A few hours afterward, the eye of Fiona made landfall along the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico, near Punta Tocon, between the municipalities of Lajas and Cabo Rojo at 19:20 UTC, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane made landfall in the Dominican Republic shortly thereafter, and then strengthened into the first major hurricane of the season. As the storm slowly moved through the Turks and Caicos, it continued to strengthen and reached Category 4 status the following day, while accelerating north.Â
The storm, after undergoing eyewall replacement cycles, reached peak 1-minute sustained winds of 130 mph (215 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 932 mb (27.52 inHg). After fluctuating between category 3 and 4 intensity as it passed Bermuda, Fiona quickly transitioned into a large and powerful extratropical cyclone and struck Nova Scotia with 105 mph (169 km/h) winds and minimum pressure of 931 mb early on September 24. Fiona then quickly weakened as it moved through the Gulf of St. Lawrence and moved back over the northwestern Atlantic. The remnants then dissipated over Baffin Bay to the west of Greenland on September 28.
As the first island hit by the storm, Guadeloupe received near-record rainfall, leaving 40% of the population without water for a few days. Puerto Rico suffered from the worst flooding since Hurricane Maria of 2017, and an island-wide blackout occurred. A third of the territory’s population was left without water, and at least 25 people died. In the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos, the islands were pounded by heavy rainfall and strong winds, causing flooding and blackouts.
Fiona was the strongest hurricane recorded in Canada based on atmospheric pressure and was one of the wettest ever recorded in the country as well.
Fiona affected the four provinces of Atlantic Canada, as well as Quebec. The storm caused major flooding in Quebec’s Magdalen Islands, southeastern New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, northeastern Nova Scotia, and southern Newfoundland. Thousands of trees were knocked down and uprooted in Nova Scotia from Halifax eastward, as well as most of southeastern New Brunswick, most of P.E.I., and some parts in Newfoundland. Wind gusts of 179 km/h (111 mph) were reported in Arisaig, Nova Scotia with a record high water height (before waves) of 2.73 meters (9.0 ft) in Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland.
Insured losses from Fiona in Canada are estimated to be at least $660 million CAD (US$500 million), with the total damage expected to be significantly higher.
