Thousands left without power after strong winds, rain blast Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Power crews are steadily restoring power to thousands of customers who were left without electricity as high winds and rain hit the province Thursday.

According to the utility's outage map, there were more than 6,000 homes and businesses without power as of 9:45p.m. AT. Outages peaked around 42,000 earlier in the day.

The largest outages were reported in the Halifax Regional Municipality and the northern region of the province, and were likely caused by high winds.

CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon said winds gusted between 90 and 100 km/h in the Halifax region.Wind speeds of up to 140 km/h were expected innorthern parts of Inverness County.

As of Thursday night, there were no more Environment Canada weather warnings. Earlier in the day,wind and rainfall warnings had been issued.

RCMP Cpl. Chris Marshall said while there is some flooding, no serious collisions or road closures had been reported.

Halifax Regional Police urged drivers to take caution after receiving reports of intersections without power andloose debris in and around the roads.

"We are advising the public, if they are able, to stay off the roadways at this time," Const. John MacLeod said in a news release.

"Remember visibility becomes reduced in rain. Motorists, always drive to conditions, take extra precaution to use turn signals and watch for pedestrians and other road users.

MacLeod said drivers at intersections with failed traffic lights need to treat it like a four-way stop. He said the car that arrives first goes first and that if two cars arrive at the same time, the car on the right goes first.

On Thursday afternoon, Halifax Transit announced theMacKay Bridge had closed to high-sided vehicles, including buses. Some bus routes detoured to the Macdonald Bridge earlier in the day.

Halifax Transit suspended its Woodside andAlderney ferry services for close to two hours Thursday, but serviceresumed by 4:30 p.m.