Hurricane Igor made landfall over extreme southeastern Newfoundland today withdamaging winds and flooding rain before racing northward to the Labrador Sea asa powerful oceanic storm.As of 8 a.m. EDT, Igor was located about 150 miles south of Cape Race,Newfoundland. Sweeping towards the northeast at 45 mph, Igor was still barely aCategory 1 hurricane having highest sustained winds of 75 mph.
As of Tuesday morning, slashing rains and high winds were striking easternNewfoundland. Winds gusted to 84 mph at Sagona Island, off the southernmainland. Sustained winds reached nearly 97 mph on the Hibernia oil facility,located 200 miles east-southeast of St. John's.
Rainfall as of Tuesday morning topped 4 inches at Bonavista. At least 2.4inches of rain doused St. John's with more heavy rain set to come.
The eastern half of the island will continue to bear the brunt of the stormtoday. Highest rainfall will be 6 to as much as 8 inches by this evening.
The intense rain will cause rivers and lakes to swell and could trigger someflooding problems. Fortunately, the spongelike action of the many lakes andponds in the area will tend to moderate stream flooding.
Winds will also howl as the storm sweeps by, with winds on shore reaching 50 to75 mph. Higher gusts will blast near-shore waters.
The roaring winds will create the potential for some damage. However, since theisland's climate is stormy, structures tend to be sturdy and moreweather-resistant.
Story by Jim Andrews and Katie Sorbeck, AccuWeather.com Meteorologists
