Over a hundred thousand residents in Nova Scotia are without power as post-tropical cyclone Lee barreled toward the Maritimes. Environment Canada has issued warnings for destructive winds, heavy rains, more outages, and possible flooding. As of 1:07 p.m. local time on Sept. 16, Nova Scotia Power reported over 1,000 outages, affecting more than 120,000 customers. Lee transitioned to a post-tropical cyclone early Saturday, but its impacts on the Maritimes are still powerful, according to an update by Environment Canada at 12:23 p.m. ADT.
The federal agency said the former hurricane was about 90 kilometers south of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, with a maximum wind speed of 120 kilometers per hour, and moving north at a speed of 41 kilometers per hour. The cyclone’s center is expected to make landfall over western Nova Scotia Saturday afternoon, with its effects likely to be felt within a radius of several hundred kilometers. “Post-tropical storm Lee is approaching the southwest coast of Nova Scotia, battering much of the Maritimes today with heavy rain, strong winds, and large waves along the Atlantic coast,” said the agency.
Meanwhile, in the capital, the arrivals and departures board at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport was a sea of red text indicating canceled flights. More than 100 millimeters of rain was forecast in some areas, with Environment Canada warning of possible flooding in parts of southwestern Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, including Saint John and Moncton. In its latest update, the agency says heavy rain will continue to affect New Brunswick, with about 30 to 60 millimeters of rain already fallen over the southern Maritimes. Areas along Nova Scotia’s central Atlantic coast have seen large offshore waves of between 6 and 12 meters, with coastal flooding occurring during high tide.
Wind gusts were reported to be around 90 km/h along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, peaking at 116 km/h at the Halifax Airport. Top wind gusts have been reported at 90 km/h in southwestern Nova Scotia, damaging power lines. “Widespread utilities outages are reported across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,” the agency said. As of 1:10 p.m. local time, NB Power’s outage map listed more than 40,000 customers without power in New Brunswick, while Maritime Electric reported about 50 customers with no power on Prince Edward Island.