Strong storm lashes Atlantic Canada

Monday, September 22, 2014, 9:04 AM -

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The week is starting out windy and rainy in Atlantic Canada due to a major system that is lashing the east coast.

Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were in line for the storm's strongest effects, with wind and rainfall warnings widespread through much of those provinces.

Those watches and warnings were dropping slowly as the sun began to rise, but not before the toppled trees left tens of thousands of people without electricity in Nova Scotia.

More than 48,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were without power in the early morning hours Monday, though that number had dropped to under 30,000 by 8 a.m. ADT. 

The outages also include several schools, and the winds forced the closure of the Canso Causeway to high-sided vehicles.

The storm wasn't a hurricane by any means, but its winds were still very powerful, reaching up past the 90 km/h mark in some communities in Nova Scotia, with lesser, but still potent, gusts in New Brunswick.

As for rain, Halifax in particular was hard-hit, with more than 80 mm being recorded in parts of the metropolitan area.

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The winds in the Maritimes are slowly dying down, with up to 20 mm of rain still to fall in eastern Nova Scotia by the early morning hours Tuesday.

In Newfoundland, meanwhile, wind gusts are expected to exceed those recorded by Hurricane Arthur, with a gust of 100 km/h recorded in the Wreckhouse area, and very significant rainfall is still expected over the west of the island, as well as Labrador.

"Labrador will experience rain through Monday, then we have a switch over to snow as temperatures drop in the pre-dawn hours Tuesday," Weather Network meteorologist Brian Dillon said early Monday morning. "Some higher elevation areas could see up to 10-15 cm of snow in Labrador City."

In the Maritimes, heavy rain showers will give way to sun and clouds in the afternoon, with a humidex of 30, with cooler temperatures in the evening and highs near 15^oC on Tuesday.

From Tuesday to Friday, near-seasonal conditions prevail, rising to a little past the 20-degree mark as the week progresses, with mostly sunny skies.