Hurricane Larry will hit N.L. hard and fast, with Friday night expected to see the worst

Environment Canada issued a hurricane watch alert Thursday morning for the St. John's area and the southeastern Avalon Peninsula, saying Hurricane Larryhas the potential to bring fierce conditions to parts of the island Friday night.

Hurricane Larry is expected to unleash wind gusts up to 130 km/h along parts of the coast.

"Right now the track is taking the hurricane pretty well across the centre of the Avalon Peninsula, which means St. John's and areas east of that are likely to see some pretty strong winds," said meteorologist Tiffany Cheeks ofEnvironment Canada's weather office in Gander.

"Then areas to the west, we've got a tropical storm watch. That's for the western Avalon and from the Burin Peninsula up to the Bonavista Peninsula. They're looking at wind gusts up to 100 km/h there."

Fast-moving storm

While conditions will be fairly calm during the day, things will change dramatically into the evening and overnight.

Cheeks said Larry will be a fast-moving storm, whichmeans rainfall will at least be short-lived. However, that rain will be heavy and intense.

CBC meteorologistAshley Brauweiler said parts of the island, from the Avalon Peninsula to central Newfoundland,can expect20 to 50 millimetres of rain between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Saturday is expected to remain windy, according to Cheeks.

"As the hurricane moves further out to sea, things should die down and it will calm down a little after that," she said.

"Right now it looks like it's going to befairly fast-moving, so it should just be major impacts Friday night."

Cheeks said the southern Avalon Peninsula and Burin Peninsula should keep an eye out for a storm surge warning that may be issued later on Thursday, with high sea levels and pounding surf expected for those areas.

The ocean swell will arrive Thursday, but the waves will become particularly large as the storm reaches Newfoundland, saidBrauweiler.

How to prepare

Rhonda Kenney, director of disaster management for the Canadian Red Cross Atlanticregion, says residents should take advantage of sunny weatheron Thursday to prepare forwhatever Hurricane Larry throws their way Friday.

Kenney saidthe first step is making sure things are secured around your own property, such as patio furniture, barbecues and trampolines.

The next step is preparing on a personal level. Make sure there's adequate drinking water available for a 72-hour period, food, flashlights, a portable radio, cash and even personal documents in the event people may need to evacuate their homes, Kenney said.

"A good idea that while you're taking care of your own individual and family needs [is] that you keepan eye out for your neighbours. They may need some support or assistance locking down some of those items," she said.

The most important step while the storm is at itspeakis to stay at home and not go outside at all, said Kenney.

Even when the storm is over, she said people should remain at home while officials ensure the safety of the community and roadways.

Premier Andrew Furey told reporters the provincial government dispatched some workers from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure on Thursday to ensure road culverts were cleared of debris.

He said workers are on standby over the weekend and the province's emergency operations division is on high alert due to the unpredictable nature of the storm.

He said the province also spoke with utilitycompaniesand regional health authorities, andboth have emergency plans in place.

"We're preparing as a government, but everybodyneeds to prepare at home as well. We can do our part, you need to do your part as well," Furey said. "Part of emergency preparedness is just that everyone collectively owning that responsibility. Please don't take this lightly."

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