Tropical storm Leslie is likely to head toward Newfoundland. (NCAR)

Tropical storm Leslie is on the move, but the chance of it hitting the Maritimes is slim, according to Environment Canada.

For the past couple of days, it's been stalled southeast of Bermuda, which has caused the storm to weaken and become disorganized.

But Leslie has picked up speed and is tracking northward.

"What we are watching is as it continues to move north, it will eventually reach warmer waters north of Bermuda," Jean Marc Couturier with Environment Canada's Hurricane Centre, said Saturday.

"There is an opportunity for the system to pick up more energy and intensify and therefore we are expecting it to regain to its hurricane status that it once had."

Couturier says there's only about a 10 percent chance Leslie will make a direct hit on the Maritimes, veering instead into Newfoundland by Thursday morning.

For eastern Nova Scotia, there is still a slight chance there might be some impact, depending on especially if the track ends up being further west," Couturier said.

In Cape Breton, Kennington Cove Beach — located near the Fortress of Louisbourg — will be closed until Leslie passes.

The beach is well known for its big surf and rip tides, so as of 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the Kennington Cove Road will be closed until further notice.

"From time to time when we've been made aware of pending weather conditions that may be threatening to our shoreline, we take precautionary measures from preventing any incidences that could happen," said Lester Marchand, visitor experience manager for Parks Canada.

He says one of the reasons for the closure is that the area has no cellphone coverage.

Leslie's wind speeds are expected to reach up to 150 kilometres an hour at its peak.

By then it will be a post-tropical storm, but it could still pack a wallop with winds up to 100 kilometres an hour.

It appears the other looming hurricane, Michael, will track well away from the east coast.