Snow, rain and high winds hit Maritimes, causing power outages across the region

A system of snow, rain and high winds struck the Maritimes on Tuesday, a storm that's expected to continue over parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island overnight.

Thousands of homes and businesses were without power Tuesday afternoon,though crews had restored electricity to much of the region by 5 p.m. AT.

Outages peaked in Nova Scotia at about4 p.m., with more than 12,000 customers of Nova Scotia Power without electricity.

"The damage started in the west early this morning in the Shelburne area," saidLia MacDonald, vice-president of transmission, distribution and delivery with Nova Scotia Power.

"And then the storm tracked across into the [Halifax] metro region, which is where we saw most of our outages earlier this afternoon, although the majority of those have been restored."

MacDonald said the province had a total of42,000 outages through the day, and she expectedmore as the storm hits Cape Breton on Tuesday evening.

As of 9p.m. AT, more than 4,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were without electricity most of whom are in the Victoria and Inverness counties of Cape Breton.

Expected restoration timesvary, but most customers should expect to have their power restored bylateWednesday, according to Nova Scotia Power's website.

• Full list of Nova Scotia cancellations

Most of the outages were caused by high winds along the coast. The Halifax Dockyard reported gusts of up to 96 km/h, andin Cape Breton,Grand Etangreported 183km/h.

The weather also forced almost all schools across the three provinces to close on Tuesday morning.Several universities and Nova Scotia Community Collegecampuses also shut down for the day.

MacDonald said300 field technicians are working on the damageTuesdayevening. Contractors from New Brunswick have been brought into Nova Scotia to help, but they must isolatein hotels while they await mandatory COVID-19 testing.

The high windscould also delay repairs.

"It really does come down to wind, and when that is over 80 km/h, it's not considered safe for our crews. They will stand down until it is safe to go back out and continue restoring power," said Nova Scotia Power spokespersonJacqueline Foster.

Halifax Regional Police askedpeople to drive with extreme caution during the storm. Drivers were asked to allow extra time for their commute so they won't have to rush, to clean all snow off their vehicles including the roof and to turn on their headlights.

A transport truck hadgone off the road on Highway 101 in the Hantsport area, according to Nova Scotia'sDepartment of Transportation.There's no word on whether anyone was injured in the crash.

Much of Nova Scotia also received about10 to 15 centimetresof snow earlyTuesday.

Environment Canada has issued wind warnings for much of Nova Scotia they are expected to continue overnight and arainfall warning for almost the entire province.The rain started first in the southwest of the province late Tuesday morningand arrived in the rest of the province in theafternoon into evening. Cape Breton is not expected to get rain until Tuesday night, forecasters say.

Anywhere from 25 to 80 millimetres of rain could fall by Tuesday night and, according to CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon,could become heavy. There's alsoa risk of a thunderstorm for the region.

New Brunswick and P.E.I.

New Brunswick was expected to receive between 15 and 45 centimetres of snow, depending on the area, according to Environment Canada.Northern parts of the province were expected to get up to 45 centimetres throughout the day Tuesday.

• Full list of New Brunswick cancellations

The snow started early in the afternoon, before switching torainmixed with ice pellets.Environment Canada said there is also a risk of freezing rain overnight into Wednesday morning. Snow and ice pellets are expected to taper off Wednesday afternoon.

As of 9 p.m., NB Powerhad restored power to about 800 customers who had lost electricitylateTuesday afternoon.

Marc Belliveau, a spokesperson for NB Power, said72 crews were on standby to repair power outages. The utility also hired 25 contract crews.

On Prince Edward Island,Environment Canada issueda special weather statementfor Kings and Queens counties.

"Whether we're under the warning or not, it's going to be a really messy system, really hard to get around in today. If you can stay home and just bunker down, today's the day to do it," said CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin.

• Full list of P.E.I. cancellations

The University of Prince Edward Island and Holland College closed their campuses. Many government offices federal, provincial and municipal delayedopening.

Winds have been strong across the province, with gusts up to 70 km/h Tuesdayafternoon that are expected to continue into the early morning.

Confederation Bridge warnedof traffic restrictions starting Tuesday morning and potentially continuing into Wednesday morning.