Power outages, fallen trees as Maritimes rocked by strong fall storm

Thousands of Maritimers lost power on Thursday as a slow-moving fall storm crawled through the region, bringing downpours, powerful gusts and downed trees.

Forecasters said sustained winds of about 60 kilometres per hour hit parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, with some coastal gusts expected to reach 90 kilometres per hour.

Nova Scotia Power was reporting more than 33,000 customers without power as of just after 2 p.m. local time.

NB Power was coping with more than 13,000 outages by 2 p.m., while P.E.I.'s Maritime Electric was listing just a few outages.

Environment Canada meteorologist Ian Hubbard said the system didn't pack the punch of post-tropical storm Dorian, but was more powerful than a "typical fall storm" in Atlantic Canada.

He said rain warnings were in effect for some parts of the region, with amounts expected to hit 50 to 70 millimetres.

Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office said in a tweet that high water levels were expected during high tide, potentially causing floods and coastal erosion at beaches and damaging infrastructure.

Social media posts showed trees down around Halifax, and water streaming along streets in Saint John, N.B.

Before hitting the Atlantic provinces, the storm packed a powerful punch in New England.

Gusts in Cape Cod, Mass., where about 200,000 residents lost power, were reported to reach speeds of 140 kilometres per hour.

In Portland, Maine, the atmospheric pressure at sea level — an indicator of the strength of a storm — was the lowest ever recorded in October, said William Watson, a meteorologist with the U.S.National Weather Service.

The storm was expected to gradually shift east over Cape Breton in the late afternoon and evening, while Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula can expect some strong evening winds as well.

Some flights were delayed or cancelled at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

— with files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2019.