More than 100,000 customers in the dark across the Maritimes

The effects of strong winds were across the Maritimes Tuesday as more than 100,000 customers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island were without power through much of the day.

A rainfall warning from Environment Canada is in effect for several counties in Nova Scotia.

OUTAGES

NB Power dealt with a tidal wave of outages as the province grappled with the storm. According to the NB Power outage map, 54,960 customers are without power due to 1,459 outages as of 9:30 p.m.

“Initial reports from our restoration team indicate there are many uprooted trees and tree contact with lines,” NB Power said in a statement. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but our restoration team is active in every district, doing damage assessment and making repairs where conditions are safe.

“We understand being without power is difficult, and our teams are here to help. Please be respectful to all of our field crews as they work hard to safely and efficiently restore power to impacted customers.”

Lights are out at an intersection in Fredericton, N.B., on Dec. 19, 2023.

The Fredericton International Airport reported a power outage, but said backup generators were running and flights continued to operate.

Nova Scotia Power reported 9,398 customers in the dark due to 711 outages around 9:30 p.m. In a statement, NS Power said "restoration efforts are in full force" and they had more than 750 people in the field working to bring customers back onto the grid.

"Crews have been working to safely restore power since the beginning of the storm through some very challenging winds," said Matt Drover, storm lead for NS Power. "We've had reports of those high winds uprooting trees, bringing trees and branches into power lines and breaking power poles."

Maritime Electric says 6 customers are cut off from electricity in P.E.I.

CLOSURES AND CANCELLATIONS

Travellers check their luggage at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport on Dec. 19, 2023.

Multiple flights to and from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport were delayed or cancelled Tuesday, according to their website.

Northumberland Ferries Limited announced the ferries departing Wood Islands at 8:30 a.m. and Caribou at 10 a.m. were cancelled due to “gale force winds.” Regular trips will resume at 11:30 a.m.

Bay Ferries Limited also cancelled its ferry departures from Digby, N.S., at 11 a.m. and from Saint John, N.B., at 2:15 p.m.

The Confederation Bridge, which restricted entry on Monday, was fully open to all traffic Tuesday.

Click here for a photo gallery of storm images.