A major storm is bringing a mix of rain and snow to New Brunswick, where many schools were closed and power outages reported.
At one point, more than 11,000 customers were without power, with most outages reported in the Fredericton, Miramichi, Sussex and Woodstock areas.
With little relief in the weather forecast, the NB Power said it is expecting more outages as the storm progresses.
In Halifax, the evening rush hour was complicated by flooding on the Bedford Highway.
Amajor artery in and out of the city was closed to commuters, as water gushing out of manholes flooded the streets and filled the air with the smell of raw sewage.
Halifax’s Metro Transit had to re-route five of their buses.
Heavy rain throughout the day made driving treacherous around the city, with several car accidents being reported.
Two firefighers were taken to hospital after a collision between a car and a fire truck on Nova Scotia’s Highway 103.
Most schools across New Brunswick were cancelled for the day, except for those in the Anglophone South School District. However, many buses in the school district were delayed or not running Wednesday morning.
All schools in the Francophone School District South were closed except in Saint John and Quispamsis.
The Fredericton Christian Academy and Moncton Christian Academy were also closed, as well as classes at the New Brunswick Community College in Miramichi.
School officials are not ruling out closures tomorrow, as they watch the storm unfold.
“We understand that this is a big system and we know that we'll need to be vigilant throughout the night and perhaps another early morning conversation tomorrow,” said David McTimoney, superintendent of the Anglophone West School District.
Residents of northern New Brunswick had to negotiate snow and rain, which proved particularly tricky on the roads.
“Today it's really hard driving in this because the slush is there and it's lots of water and it's really pulling the vehicles, but the roads have still got a lot of snow, so it's really slushy to drive through,” said Miramichi resident Carol MacKinley.
In the province’s southern region, ice flowed down the Hammond River — a common sight in spring but a potentially ominous sign in December.
“At this point of the year, it’s usually up around two metres and I think we're sort of pushing three now … you can expect it to get quite a bit higher,” said Sean Doyle of the Hammond River Conservation Centre.
In Sussex, N.B. officials went door-to-door warning residents of potential flooding.
The Emergency Measures Organization in New Brunswick says the public should prepare for a mix of snow, freezing rain and heavy rain over the next two days. Rainfall warnings are in effect for the southern half of the province, including the greater Moncton area, while winter storm warnings are in effect in the Miramichi region and the northern half of the province.
Up to 40 centimetres of snow could blanket northern and central New Brunswick by Thursday morning, while the coastline along the Bay of Fundy should brace for rainfall in excess of 100 millimetres, said Greg MacCallum, the director of the organization.
"We're going to have potentially hazardous road conditions, especially in those areas with freezing rain and certainly in those areas where we're going to have significant snowfall," he said.
Weather is believed to have been a factor in a fatal head-on collision near Fredericton Wednesday morning.
Police say three people were killed when a car collided with a tractor-trailer on Route 8 in Penniac after midnight.
The exact cause hasn’t been determined but police believe poor road conditions caused by bad weather contributed to the accident.
While New Brunswick is seeing a mix of messy weather, Nova Scotia is being pounded by heavy rain.
Southwestern Nova Scotia could see up to 50 millimetres of rain and wind gusts up to 70 kilometres an hour while 40 millimetreswas expected to fall throughout the day in the Halifax area.
Roads are wet across the province, making for dangerous driving conditions.
There were no significant power outages and most schools were open in Nova Scotia, although buses weren't running in Cheticamp.
Classes were cancelled at George D. Lewis in Louisbourg due to water problems. Classes were also cancelled at Cape Breton Highlands Academy due to high winds. Students were sent home at 10:15 a.m.
The weather is affecting ferry service across the province. Both the LaHave Ferry and Tancook Ferry suspended service due to high winds Wednesday morning. The LaHave Ferry is now back in service.
Northumberland Ferries has also canceled service between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia until further notice.
So far, the weather does not appear to be affecting flights leaving from Maritime airports, but travellers are encouraged to check their flight status.
Police across the Maritimes are warning motorists to drive slowly and adjust their driving for the conditions.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Atlantic’s Andy Campbell
