Hurricane Irene Path: Storm to Hit Canada on Sunday

As Hurricane Irene gets closer to making landfall in North Carolina, Eastern Canada is bracing for her arrival on late Sunday.

The storm will likely be interacting with a front at that time . . . based on current information gale force winds are probably for many maritime, Newfoundland and Labrador waters, the Canadian Hurricane Centre confirmed on Friday morning.

Residents of Nova Scotia have been advised to prepare for the weekend storm.

Monitor weather and hurricane forecasts. Restock 72-hour emergency kits. Review family emergency plans. Prepare your home, the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office said in a statement.

Such kits should have a sufficient amount of food and water, flashlights, batteries and a crank or solar-powered radio.

New Brunswick is expected to receive a heavy dose of rain Sunday night, with 120 millimeters in the north and another 80 millimeters in the south, according to Canadian Hurricane Centre meteorologist Jean-Marc Couturier.

People at this point should really seriously get ready, get prepared for power outages, and what we like to tell people is you can be autonomous for three days, Couturier told CBC News.

On Friday morning, the country's leading airline Air Canada advised its passengers that flights to and from areas including Nassau, U.S. North East and U.S. South East may be postponed or cancelled due to the hurricane.

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs also warned Canadians to avoid all non-essential trips to the U.S. East Coast.

While Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has yet to comment on Irene, U.S. President Barack Obama addressed East Coast residents on Friday, emphasizing on the need to prepare for the worst.

I cannot stress this highly enough: if you are in the projected path of this hurricane you need to take precautions now. Don't wait, don't delay. We all hope for the best but we have to be prepared for the worst, all of us have to take this storm seriously . . . all indications point to this being a historic hurricane, said Obama.

Hurricane Irene, demoted from a Category 3 to Category 2 storm overnight, is expected to hit North Carolina on Saturday.