A storm continued to bring wet, windy weather to the Maritimes Thursday morning, prompting school closures, road closures and power outages in some areas.

Most schools were closed in New Brunswick and some schools in Nova Scotia were closed due to high winds and flooding.

There were no significant power outages in Nova Scotia, but more than 8,000 customers were without power in New Brunswick at 8:30 a.m.

The utility said it expects power to be restored to 99 per cent of affected customers by Thursday evening.

Most outages were reported in the Bathurst, Campbellton, Fredericton, Miramichi, Tracadie, and Woodstock areas.

Police are warning drivers to be careful after flooding shut down several roads across the Maritimes after a day and night of heavy rain.

The rain, which began Wednesday, resulted in flood warnings for the Nashwaak River north of Fredericton and Canaan River north of Petitcodiac, where officials said there was a risk of ice jams.

Many roads and highways are closed in the Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton areas due to flooding.

Dozens of roads are also closed across Nova Scotia, with Lunenburg, Hants and Cumberland counties being particularly hard hit.

Halifax-area motorists had an especially tricky commute Thursday morning as a section of the Bedford Highway – one of the main arteries into the city – remained closed. It was shut down Wednesday afternoon due to flooding. Halifax Water says the road has since reopened.

The rain also caused bridge and culvert washouts in western P.E.I. where RCMP reported as many as 60 roads flooded.

The RCMP say a driver escaped with minor scrapes following a bridge collapse on Route 164 in Milburn. No one was injured when a vehicle became stuck in a sinkhole on Route 175 in Tyne Valley.

The weather also affected ferry service between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia. The 8 a.m. sailing from Wood Islands and 9:30 a.m. sailing from Caribou were cancelled due to weather conditions. Service is back to normal.

Rainfall highlights:

  • Grand Manan           162 mm
  • Moncton                    142 mm
  • Saint John                 103 mm
  • Kentville                    130 mm
  • Halifax                        104 mm
  • Summerside            121 mm

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Atlantic's Cindy Day