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Rain, wind gusts, freezing rain make messy mix in Maritimes; moving into N.L.

Jan 25, 2017 | 3:00 AM

HALIFAX — More than 100,000 customers were still without power in many parts of New Brunswick late Wednesday after a blustery mix of freezing rain, ice pellets and strong winds moved through the Maritimes.

At the height of the storm more than 130,000 customers were affected New Brunswick Power reported.

The utility said that as of 6 p.m. there were more than 1,700 outages affecting 103,491 customers. The storm was reported to be still in progress in areas including the Acadian Peninsula and Miramichi.

The company’s website estimated that 90 per cent of customers in communities such as Bathurst, Rothesay, Eel River, St. Stephen and Woodstock would be restored by the end of the day Wednesday. About 50 per cent of customers are to be restored by the end of the day Thursday in Sussex, Sackville, Shediac, Bouctouche and Moncton.

Most customers in the Fredericton area were also expected to be restored by the end of the day Thursday.

The freezing rain pelted much of northern New Brunswick, resulting in some school closures and midday closure announcements at several universities.

Freezing rain also hit parts of Nova Scotia, as the mix of rain, slush and ice pellets made driving hazardous in some parts of the province.

About 12,000 customers were reported without power earlier in the day, but that number had been reduced to 127 by 6 p.m. 

The rain and freezing rain also prompted police in Prince Edward Island to urge people to either stay off the roads or slow down to cope with poor driving conditions.

In downtown Halifax, strong easterly winds brought gusts of close to 100 kilometres per hour early in the morning, scattering construction debris on downtown streets and resulting in power outages in parts of the city.

The Department of Transport in New Brunswick said there were slushy patches on the Trans-Canada highway from the Quebec border to Grand Falls, and from Grand Falls to Woodstock travel wasn’t recommended due to the treacherous conditions in the morning.

The Mounties issued a no-travel advisory on Route 95 from the Woodstock area to Houlton, Maine.

Environment Canada predicted the storm would move north and bring freezing rain and heavy rainfall to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Schools throughout the Southwest Coast and Stephenville were closed for the morning, some for the entire day due to impending ice storm.

Later in the day RCMP in Port aux Basques advised motorists to drive with caution because of deteriorating weather conditions in Wreck House and the Trans Canada Highway in western Newfoundland.

 

The Canadian Press