Thousands of power outages as rain and wind warnings persist in N.S.

CITYnews halifax / By Rachel Morgan

A spring storm is bringing lots of rain to Halifax and much of Nova Scotia along with high wind gusts and causing outages around the province.

As of 7:30 a.m., Nova Scotia Power’s outage map is showing more than 18,000 power outages provincewide with around 3,100 of them in the Hammonds Plains area.

Approximately 1,300 outages are persisting in downtown Dartmouth from Albro Lake Road to the Dartmouth Commons.

Another 2,444 outages are being reported in Beaver Bank with around 2,700 customers in the dark stretching from Portobello to Westphal.

A rainfall warning and wind warning, both yellow-level, are in effect for the Halifax area, calling for heavy rain and strong winds.

“It’s a widespread 30 to 50 mm of rain in the Halifax area, and I think most will be in the 40 to 50 mm range, and because we could see localized downpours or thunderstorms, there could be pockets of 60 mm” said CityNews Meteorologist Allister Aalders. “In terms of the winds, they will peak on Tuesday morning, southerly gusting 50 to 80, sometimes 90 or even 100 km/h.”

Aalders says rain began Monday evening, tapered off overnight before returning back strong on Tuesday morning.

Environment Canada says the heavy rain and melting snow could cause flooding in some areas with poor drainage, and says strong winds could lead to power outages.

The agency also suggests people should take measures to ensure loose items are secured in outdoor areas.