HALIFAX -- Wet and windy weather caused widespread power outages, school closures, and even some damage in the Maritimes on Tuesday.

Dozens of schools in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were closed due to power outages. Some communities reported damage to buildings, as well as downed trees and power lines.

The wild weather left thousands of Maritimers in the dark. As of 8:18 a.m., Nova Scotia Power was reporting 247 outages affecting 50,315 customers. Those numbers had dropped to 359 outages affecting 15,725 customers as of 12 p.m.

Many of the outages -- more than 19,000 -- were reported in the Halifax area Tuesday morning, making for a tricky commute as many traffic lights weren’t working on main arteries in the city.

In New Brunswick, 100 outages were affecting 11,459 NB Power customers as of 8:20 a.m. Roughly 10,056 customers were still coping with power outages as of noon.

in Dartmouth, a new home under construction on Marvin Street toppled under the strong winds. Across the harbour in Halifax, a large tree snapped under the winds and took down a power line on Leppert Street.

It came as a shock for resident John Rideout, who heard a loud crash as the tree fell outside his home Tuesday morning. He says no one was injured, but the branch narrowly missed his car.

"When the main branch, tree trunk came down, it fell within a foot of the car," said Rideout.

Leppert Street

In Sydney, at least 60 tenants were evacuated from a 48-unit apartment complex on Rotary Drive after part of the roof ripped off, resulting in interior flooding and potential damage to the electrical service.

The city arranged for transit buses to bring the tenants -- many of whom are international students at Cape Breton University -- to Centre 200, which opened as an emergency shelter.

There is no word on when they might be able to return to the building.

Sydney apartment building

It was a similar story in Saint John, where more than 100 tenants were evacuated from two apartment buildings after high winds caused significant damage to the roofs of both buildings.

They include one of the three 96-unit buildings that comprise the Regency Towers complex on Heather Way in east Saint John, and a 12-unit building at 57 Ocean Court in west Saint John.

The Canadian Red Cross has arranged emergency lodging for six tenants from the Ocean Court building, while other tenants made their own arrangements.

The organization says, due to the number of tenants from the building on Heather Way, an emergency shelter may need to be established.

For now, evacuees of the Regency Towers building are being directed to Simonds High School.

No injuries have been reported.

Saint John damage

Water levels along Trout Creek in Sussex, N.B., had exceeded flood levels around 4 a.m. Firefighters went door-to-door in the area, warning residents to take necessary precautions. Voluntary evacuations were also in place.

The wet and windy weather is also disrupting travel in the region. Some flights are delayed or cancelled at Maritime airports and some bridges are closed to high-sided vehicles. The 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. ferry crossings between Saint John and Digby are cancelled. The 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. ferry crossings between Wood Islands, P.E.I. and Caribou, N.S. are also cancelled.