Over a hundred thousand residents in Nova Scotia are without power as post-tropical cyclone Lee barreled toward the Maritimes, with Environment Canada warning residents to brace for destructive winds, heavy rains, more outages, and possible flooding.
The federal agency said the former hurricane was about 90 kilometres south of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, with a maximum wind speed of 120 kilometres per hour, and moving north at a speed of 41 kilometres per hour.
The cyclone’s centre is expected to make landfall over western Nova Scotia Saturday afternoon. Its effects are likely to be felt within a radius of several hundred kilometres.
“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 cancelled flights.
More than 100 millimetres 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 earlier update at 9:21 a.m. ADT.
In its latest update, the agency says heavy rain will continue to affect New Brunswick. About 30 to 60 millimetres of rain has already fallen over the southern Maritimes.
Areas along Nova Scotia's central Atlantic coast have seen large offshore waves of between 6 and 12 metres, the agency added. “Coastal flooding has been reported at a number of locations during high tide this morning.”
Wind gusts were reported to be around 90 km/h along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia from Halifax to Digby County, peaking at 116 km/h at the Halifax Airport, earlier Saturday.
Top wind gusts have so far been reported at 90 km/h in southwestern Nova Scotia, peaking at 116 km/h, damaging power lines. “Widespread utilities outages are reported across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,” the agency said.
