Freezing rain, rain continue for parts of the Maritimes; power outages close schools Monday

Wet, slippery conditions were ongoing in the Maritimes Monday as more freezing rain coated the region.

Freezing rain and rainfall warnings remain in effect across New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Northern parts of New Brunswick are experiencing the most significant ice build-up. Freezing rain is expected to continue in some areas until Tuesday morning.

All schools in New Brunswick were closed Monday. New Brunswick students also missed class Friday due to similar messy conditions.

The Moncton Fire Department, in Moncton, N.B., received several calls Monday for power lines down.

"A lot of ice has collected on telephone poles and tree branches. What that does is cause the tree branches to come down and touch the high-powered lines and arc, sometimes causing a fire. We've had a couple of telephone poles on fire," said Keith Guptill, Moncton Fire Department platoon chief.

Guptill is worried his firefighters won't be able to get to people if the city streets turn into icy surfaces.

"We've even had cases where the guys will get out of the truck and if they don't have the cleats on that we've provided for them, their feet will slide from right underneath them," he said.

"I want my crews safe as they try to keep the people of the City of Moncton safe."

A number of schools in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were also closed due to power outages.

In Nova Scotia, rainfall warnings remain in place along the coast, with Les Suêtes wind warnings issued for Inverness County - Mabou and north.

The onslaught of rain has also led to localized flooding due to frozen or saturated ground.

POWER OUTAGES

More than 56,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were off the grid early Monday morning, with most in the Halifax area due to a "transmission disruption.”

In a tweet around 8:30 a.m., Nova Scotia Power said the outages were related to the utility’s transmission tie to New Brunswick. It says connection was lost to the tie, causing the electrical system “to become unstable.”

The utility says customers’ consumption needed to be reduced until the system was stabilized.

The tweet says one of the ties was able to be reconnected, restoring power.

Nova Scotia Power says the cause of the issue is being investigated.

The utility also says there is significant ice build-up on trees and power equipment in the northeastern part of the province.

As of 5:30 p.m., the number of customers without power had dropped significantly, down to around 1,500.

At that time in New Brunswick, more than 14,000 NB Power customers – most in the Moncton, Shediac and Kent County areas -- were in the dark.

Earlier on Monday, NB Power said it was dispatching workers from areas not affected by the outages to the Moncton and Bouctouche regions.

The utility said, in some cases, ATVs have been needed to make repairs in remote areas.

Marc Belliveau with NB Power says the duration of the outages could depend on where you live.

"In a lot of instances, especially with a transmission outage, when we can fix it, it will restore power for thousands of people in one shot," he said. "So, we're hoping to get some of those taken care of today."

In P.E.I., 11 Maritime Electric customers were without power as of 5:30 p.m. – a significant decline from 8 a.m. Monday, when 169 customers were in the dark.

TRANSPORTATION

Weather conditions are making travel difficult on the water and on roads.

Marine Atlantic cancelled crossings between North Sydney, N.S., and Port aux Basques, N.L., on Monday.

The ferry service said it also anticipates the following Tuesday departures will be impacted by conditions in the Cabot Strait:

• North Sydney to Port aux Basques at 12:30 p.m.
• Port aux Basques to North Sydney at 11:45 a.m.

Bay Ferries said the 9 a.m. Monday departure from Saint John, N.B., and the 4 p.m. departure from Digby, N.S., were cancelled due to high waves and wind speeds in excess of operational limits for “safety, passenger comfort and safe docking.”