Igor to pound N.S., N.L. with rain

Environment Canada issued weather warnings Monday about Hurricane Igor, whichwasmaintaining strength as it moved northand was expected to bringpowerful winds and heavy rainfall to two provinces.

Igor was forecast to cause hazardous conditions for mariners and coastal villages in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, with swells expected to reach two to three metres.

Atabout 12:30 a.m. NT Tuesday, Igor's centre was905 kilometres southwest of Cape Race, N.L., and it was heading toward the northeast at 46 km/h, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported. Igor remained a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 120 km/h.

Hurricane-force winds extendup to 140 kilometres from the centre, with tropical-storm-force winds reaching out 610 kilometres.

Weather forecasters predicted that Igor would be downgraded to a tropical storm by Tuesday.

A tropical storm watch was issued for Newfoundland's Avalon and Burin peninsulas, where at least 100 millimetres of rain was expected to start falling Monday night.

"There could also be pockets that may exceed 150 millimetreson the Avalon Peninsula," Ian Khan, a meteorologist with the Halifax-based Atlantic Storm Prediction Centre, told CBC News. Khan said winds would be heaviest offshore.

Some offshore oil rigs east of St. John's were being evacuated Monday before high winds and heavy rain that were expected to hit the following day. Helicopters and supplyboats were used to remove workers from the GSF Grand Banks and the Henry Goodrich rigs.

About half of the employees on the oil production vessel at the White Rose field were expected to travel to St. John's before the storm.

However, Suncor officials said it would be business as usual on its production vessel at the Terra Nova oilfield. Suncor said the Terra Nova vessel is designed for the weather Igor was expected to bring.

Hibernia also wasn't taking any extraordinary measures at its concrete oil-drilling platform. The company said it wasmonitoring Igor, but didn't think it lookedlike the storm would be severe enough to cause trouble.

The hurricane swept past Bermuda on Sunday night, knockingboats from their moorings and littering the British territory with downed trees and branches.