Wind, rain and winter storm warnings remain as powerful storm moves through the Maritimes

A powerful storm system out of Texas brought a mix of snow, rain and strong winds Wednesday, leading to school cancellations and travel disruptions.

Weather conditions are expected to improve west-to-east across the Maritimes Wednesday night, with weather warnings coming to an end in parts of southwestern Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

By midnight, eastern parts of the region, including Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton, should experience significantly diminished winds and just a chance of some showers or flurries, according to CTV meteorologist Kalin Mitchell.

WINDS

Winds remained high and gusty Wednesday afternoon, particularly in parts of the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia and some coastal areas of Prince Edward Island. The highest gusts, 130 km/hr to 170 km/h, were recorded in areas of northern Inverness County in Cape Breton.

WEATHER ALERTS

In New Brunswick, winter storm and storm surge warnings were still in place as of 5 p.m. in the Acadian Peninsula, Campbellton and Restigouche Country, and Bathurst and Chaleur Region.

Wind warnings are also in place for Fundy National Park, Kent County, Kouchibouguac National Park, and Moncton and Southeast New Brunswick.

In Nova Scotia, a special weather statement advises of winds and waves on the Atlantic coast.

Wind warnings, including a Les Suêtes wind warning in Inverness County – Mabou and north, are still present for much of the province. There is a winter storm warning for northern Inverness and Victoria Counties, where snow amounts of 15 to 20 cm are expected at the higher elevations of the Highlands. Rainfall warnings are in place for:

• Guysborough County
• Halifax County - east of Porters Lake
• Halifax Metro and Halifax County West
• Hants County
• Inverness County - south of Mabou
• Richmond County
• Sydney Metro and Cape Breton County

Wind warnings are in place for Kings, Prince, and Queens counties in Prince Edward Island. Southeasterly wind gusts could reach near 90 km/h and the warning suggests damage to buildings and power outages are possible.

SCHOOLS

All schools in New Bruswick and Prince Edward Island were closed for the day, along with schools in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, South Shore and Digby and Yarmouth counties. Schools in other parts of Nova Scotia dismissed students early.

Some Maritime universities and college campuses were closed, or had a delayed opening.

TRAVEL

Marine Atlantic cancelled its 11:45 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Port aux Basques, N.L., to North Sydney, N.S., crossings, as well as the 11:45 a.m. and 11:15 p.m. crossings from North Sydney to Port aux Basques.

Bay Ferries cancelled its 9 a.m. Saint John, N.B., departure as well as its 4 p.m. Digby, N.S., departure.

The Grand Manan Ferry service in New Brunswick was suspended just after 6 a.m.

The Tancook Ferry in Nova Scotia suspended service around 11 a.m.

Halifax Harbour Bridges closed the bike and pedestrian lanes on the Macdonald Bridge due to high winds Wednesday afternoon. The MacKay bridge is also closed to high-sided vehicles and several Halifax Transit routes are on a detour.

POWER

At 9:40 p.m., Nova Scotia Power was reporting 73 outages affecting more than 2,513 customers.

The utility says its crews are positioned across the province.

At that time, NB Power was reporting more than 535 affected customers and Maritime Electric on P.E.I. was reporting 468 customers without power.

EXTENDED SHELTER HOURS

New Brunswick’s department of Social Development says emergency shelters are extending their hours Wednesday due to the weather.

“We want to ensure everyone who needs them has access to safe, warm spaces,” said Social Development Minister Jill Green in a news release. “I want to thank our operating partners in communities across the province for answering the need, especially during winter weather.”

The province says professional outreach services are also being expanded across the province. 

CANADA POST

Canada Post has issued a red delivery service alert for New Brunswick due to the storm.

Delivery is suspended for the day and Canada Post says service will resume once conditions improve.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTVNews.ca