Teddy's effects to arrive in N.L. tonight, but it's 'not going to be as bad as it sounds'

The initial effects of the remnants of Hurricane Teddy are set to start showing upin Newfoundland and Labrador on Tuesday evening, but Environment Canada says most of the island will be spared from serious impact.

"It's actually not going to be as bad as it sounds," said Todd Anstett, a meteorologist with Environment Canada based in Gander.

The storm system is expected to hit Cape Breton Wednesday and downgrade to a post-tropical storm before moving across the Cabot Strait, Anstett said.

Ahead of that, however, some wind and rain will arrive in Newfoundland, with the southwest coast expected to bear the brunt of the weather.

"It's mostly going to be winds and rain that we're going to see with Teddy, throughout tonight and tomorrow," he said.

The south coastregion from Port aux Basques to Burgeo and Rameais under a tropical storm watch, with windgusts between 80 to 90 km/hexpected to ramp upTuesday evening and continue overnight into Wednesday.

That area, and stretching along to the Burin Peninsula, could also seesix- to eight-metre waves pound the shoreline. The Port aux Basques area could also see some storm surge as the waves hit at high tide.

"Some areas along the coast might experience some damage. But at the moment we're still examining how big of a threat that could be," he said.

The strongest winds, of up to 130 km/h, are expected in the Wreckhouse area, which is under a wind warning.It will be fairly windy across the rest of the island, as well, Anstett said.

Overall, Anstett saidmost of the islandcould see 20 to 30 millimetres of rain from Teddy before Wednesday night, although southeastern Labrador could see up to 60 millimetres of rain.

"We're not expecting a lot of rain, certainly not as much as the remnants of Sally that we experienced on the past weekend," he told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.

Marine Atlantic cancelled its Tuesday night crossings ahead of the storm, as well as all crossings on Wednesday.

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