Thousands without power in the Maritimes amid winter blast

Thursday, December 1, 2016, 8:53 PM - Thousands are still without power in Atlantic Canada as the region continues to be hammered by heavy snowfall and strong winds.

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New Brunswick has been the hardest hit, with more than 10,000 customers still in the dark as of Thursday evening.

Numerous schools and many government services in Fredericton have closed their doors; public transit has also been affected.

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Since Tuesday, some areas have received more than 20 cm of snow (CFB Gagetown had 28 cm and Moncton 25 cm by 9 p.m. Wednesday), with some flakes still to fall.

Alerts in Place: Winter weather continues

Snowfall warnings remain in place for northern New Brunswick and parts of southwestern Newfoundland.

"An area of low pressure will continue to move across New Brunswick tonight," says Environment Canada. "Central and northern parts of the province can expect to see a total of up to 25 cm of snow by this evening. Snowfall amounts will be highly variable across coastal regions of eastern New Brunswick as rain along coastal section significantly lowered snowfall amounts."

Meanwhile, inland regions of southwestern Newfoundland, including parts of the Burgeo and Bay d'Espoir Highways, could see up to 25 cm through Saturday morning.

Damaging winds are also of concern, with Les Suêtes and Wreckhouse wind warnings issued for Inverness County, Nova Scotia and the Wreckhouse area of Newfoundland. Gusts could exceed 120 km/h Thursday evening into Friday afternoon.

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