WOCN31 CWHX 032045 INTERMEDIATE TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION STATEMENT UPDATED BY THE CANADIAN HURRICANE CENTRE OF ENVIRONMENT CANADA AT 6:14 PM ADT MONDAY 3 OCTOBER 2011. --------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERMEDIATE TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION STATEMENT FOR: NEWFOUNDLAND. FOR POST-TROPICAL STORM OPHELIA. THIS IS THE FINAL STATEMENT BY THE CHANCE OF ON THIS STORM. AS OF 6:30 PM NDT THE LOW WAS LOCATED EAST OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND MARINE DISTRICT - SOON TO BE ABSORBED BY A LARGE FRONTAL SYSTEM. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ==DISCUSSION== SUMMARY OF HURRICANE/POST-TROPICAL STORM OPHELIA. OPHELIA MADE LANDFALL AROUND 9:30 AM LOCAL TIME ON MONDAY OCTOBER 3RD IN THE VICINITY OF PLACENTIA ON THE AVALON PENINSULA'S SOUTHWEST COAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND. THE STORM THEN MOVED ACROSS THE PENINSULA PASSING JUST NORTH OF ST. JOHN'S THEN MOVED OVER THE NORTHERN GRAND BANKS DURING THE AFTERNOON. THE LOWEST PRESSURE OVER LAND AT THE TIME OF LANDFALL WAS NEAR 992 MB AS REPORTED BY A PRIVATELY-RUN WEATHER STATION AT CAPE PINE NEAR ST. SHOTTS. THE MINIMUM PRESSURE IN THE CENTRE OF THE STORM AT LANDFALL WAS NEAR 988 MB. MAXIMUM WINDS AT LANDFALL WERE NEAR 100 OR 110 KM/H OVER THE OCEAN. THE FORECAST TRACK HAD BEEN CORRECTED SLIGHTLY TO THE NORTHWEST BASED ON COMPUTER MODELS AND SATELLITE IMAGES ANALYSED SUNDAY EVENING. THE STRONGEST WINDS WITH THE STORM WERE TO THE RIGHT OF ITS TRACK/CENTRE. THE HIGHEST WINDS REMAINED JUST OFFSHORE TO THE SOUTH OF THE AVALON. WIND GUSTS TO 100 KM/H WERE RECORDED ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COASTLINE WHILE INLAND GUSTS IN THE 80 TO 85 KM/H RANGE WERE MEASURED. WINDS NOTICABLY DIMINISHED AS THE CENTRE PASSED OVER SOME COMMUNITIES ON THE AVALON PENINSULA, THEN PICKED-UP AGAIN FROM THE WEST OR NORTHWEST AS THE STORM MOVED AWAY. A FEW OF THOSE WIND GUSTS GOT INTO THE UPPER 90 KM/H RANGE. RAINFALL AMOUNTS RANGING FROM 25 TO 60 MILLIMETRES WERE RECORDED ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEASTERN NEWFOUNDLAND. ST LAWRENCE RECEIVED 58 MILLIMETRES AND BONAVISTA 62 MILLIMETRES. CAPE RACE TO THE EAST AND BURGEO TO THE WEST OF THE STORM REPORTED ONLY 4 AND 10 MILLIMETRES, RESPECTIVELY. THIS WAS DUE IN PART TO THE DRY AIR THAT WRAPPED AROUND THE STORM AS IT WAS UNDERGOING TRANSITION TO POST-TROPICAL, AND ALSO DUE TO ITS RAPID SPEED OF TRAVEL THROUGH THE AREA. THERE WERE SEVERAL REPORTS OF FLOODING IMPACTS WHICH RESULTED FROM HEAVY DOWNPOURS MONDAY MORNING. RAINFALL RATES OF 20 MILLIMETRES/HOUR WERE OBSERVED OVER THE BURIN, CONNAIGRE AND BONAVISTA PENINSULAS. AT LEAST ONE COMMUNITY, BELLEORAM, DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY FOR A 3-HOUR PERIOD AFTER HEAVY RAIN CAUSED LOCALISED FLOODING. A NUMBER OF ROADWAYS WERE CLOSED TO TRAFFIC DUE TO FLOODING, WASHOUT AND DEBRIS. HERE ARE SOME UNOFFICIAL PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS AND MAXIMUM WIND GUSTS AS OF 3 PM MONDAY: RAINFALL PEAK WIND (MILLIMETRES) (KM/H) ST. PIERRE/MIQUELON 65 98 BONAVISTA 62 80 ST. LAWRENCE 58 70 ST. ALBAN'S 49 - TERRA NOVA PARK 47 - GANDER 27 - ST. JOHN'S AIRPORT 27 78 ARGENTIA 24 72 ST. JOHN'S WEST 22 - BURGEO 10 - CAPE RACE 4 98 THE AXIS OF MAXIMUM WINDS EXTENDED FROM LAURENTIAN FAN TO JUST SOUTH OF THE AVALON PENINSULA TO THE NORTHERN GRAND BANKS. THESE WINDS CREATED SIGNIFICANT WAVES OF 14 METRES WITH PEAKS AT 22 METRES AT THE LAURENTIAN FAN BUOY SUNDAY EVENING. THESE WAVES PROPAGATED NORTHWARD DURING THE NIGHT AND REACHED THE SOUTH COAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND AT A REDUCED AMPLITUDE MONDAY MORNING. SIGNIFICANT WAVES OF 5 TO 9 METRES AND PEAK WAVES OF 10 TO 15 METRES WERE RECORDED AT THE MOUTH OF PLACENTIA BAY AND AT BUOY 44251 RESPECTIVELY. THESE WAVES PROPAGATED OVER THE GRAND BANKS DURING THE AFTERNOON AT A LESSER AMPLITUDE. HIBERNIA REPORTED WAVES OF 5 METRES DURING THE MID-AFTERNOON. CURIOUS SPECTATORS ATTRACTED BY THE WAVE ACTION WERE ENCOURAGED TO STAY WELL AWAY FROM THE WAVE-BREAKING ZONES AS DANGEROUS SURF AND RIPTIDE CONDITIONS WERE CREATED. THERE WAS SOME BEACHFRONT DEBRIS WASH-UPS IN PRONE AREAS OF THE SOUTHERN AVALON AND BURIN PENINSULAS. STORM SURGE WAS NOT A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR WITH OPHELIA - REGISTERING NEAR 50 CM AT ARGENTIA AT LOW TIDE MONDAY MORNING. SINCE THE STORM WAS MOVING SO FAST, THERE WAS LITTLE TIME FOR THE WIND TO CAUSE WATER TO PILE-UP IN THE BAYS. END/COUTURIER/FOGARTY