More than 53,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without electricity amid powerful nor’easter

Mainland Nova Scotia expected to get additional 5-15 cm of snow Saturday morning

CBC News ·

A powerful nor’easter working its way across the province has left more than 53,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without power Saturday morning and has cancelled many flights at the Halifax airport.

As of 9:41 a.m. AT, the utility said 53,683 customers did not have electricity. The outages covered the entire mainland, with the largest concentrated in Bridgewater, Halifax and Chester. A few hundred people in Cape Breton were without power.

In a news release issued Saturday morning, Nova Scotia Power said the company had more than 500 people in the field working to restore power.

It said winds reached 90 km/h along the South Shore and Halifax and exceeded 120 km/h along the Eastern Shore.

Halifax Transit service is suspended until noon Saturday, while a decision about Halifax’s municipal recreation facilities will be made at 10 a.m. All branches of the Halifax Public Libraries are closed for the day.

CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin said the strongest winds are being felt in northern Nova Scotia through the mainland, pushing to the coast from Lunenburg to Sheet Harbour. She said the high winds will move east this morning.

• Nova Scotia Storm Centre: Latest closures and travel details

Simpkin said the mainland can expect to see an additional five to 10 centimetres of snow this morning.

The snow will turn to flurries and blowing snow will be prevalent this afternoon. Winds of 60 km/h gusting to 90 are expected this morning. By this afternoon, the wind will slow to 40 km/h with gusts reaching 70.

Temperatures will fall to –13 C this afternoon, with the wind chill making it feel like –28 C.

In Cape Breton, five to 15 millimetres of rain and freezing rain is expected this morning, as well well as 5-15 centimetres of snow later in the morning and into the afternoon.

This image shows wind gusts recorded across Nova Scotia, as of 5 a.m. AT Saturday. (Tina Simpkin/CBC)

Snow squall warnings have been issued for Victoria and Inverness counties. Five to 15 centimetres is expected today, and another 5-15 tonight.

Temperatures on the island will fall to between –6 C and –9 C this afternoon, with a wind chill of –18 to –25.

Simpkin said northwest winds will increase to 60 km/h and gust to 100, but will slowly subside tonight.