Tens of thousands of customers in the Maritimes woke up to no power Thursday morning and several schools are closed as a wet and windy storm makes its way through the region.
Schools
Several schools in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are closed Thursday due to high winds, power outages and debris over roads. A full list can be found here.
There are no school closures on Prince Edward Island.
Weather warnings
Eastern areas of New Brunswick are still under a special weather statement, warning periods of rain and strong southerly winds are expected.
A wind warning is in effect for mainland Nova Scotia, where wind gusts may reach up to 90 km/h Thursday morning.
In Cape Breton, a Les Suêtes wind warning is in place for Inverness County – Mabou and north. Environment Canada says very strong wind gusts that may cause damage are expected or occurring from Margaree Harbour to Bay St. Lawrence.
Power
In New Brunswick, more than 53,000 NB Power customers were without power as of 9 a.m. Thursday. The largest outage was in Central York, with more than 12,700 customers affected.
The utility says its Emergency Operations Centre is open and about 650 people are supporting restoration efforts across the province.
“Crews are present in every district, restoring power where conditions are safe,” reads a post on NB Power’s X account. “In certain areas, crews must wait for winds to subside before beginning necessary repairs. We anticipate more outages will be reported as this weather event progresses.”
More than 10,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were without power at 9 a.m. Restoration times vary by community.
At 9 a.m., there were 95 Maritime Electric customers without power on P.E.I.
Travel
Marine Atlantic has cancelled the 11:45 a.m. crossing from North Sydney, N.S., to Port aux Basques, N.L. The 11:45 a.m. crossing from Port aux Basques to North Sydney is also cancelled.
The Tancook Ferry in Nova Scotia is suspending service from 6 a.m. until at least noon.
Northumberland Ferries has cancelled departures from Wood Islands, P.E.I., at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. The Caribou, N.S., departures at 8:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. are also cancelled.
The Confederation Bridge has restricted certain classes of vehicles from crossing until the high wind situation changes.