People in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have been bracing for Hurricane Lee as it inches closer to making landfall in Atlantic Canada.
Lee transitioned to a post-tropical storm early Saturday as it nears landfall, but the winds remain at Category 1 strength of 130 km/h at its centre. The storm is still expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to the Maritimes.
According to CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon, the storm track has shifted east since yesterday, and it is now expected to make landfall in the southwest of Nova Scotia, near Baccaro Point in the Municipality of the District of Barrington.
The storm is moving in faster than expected, says Snoddon, and the centre of the storm is now expected to move on land around mid-day Saturday.
Top wind gusts so far are in the 90-110 km/h range in southwestern Nova Scotia, and between 30-60mm of rainfall has fallen in that same area.
Over 50,000 without power in N.S.
Some parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick began feeling the impact of the storm on Friday night before its expected landfall.
As of 7 a.m. Saturday, over 50,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were without power, with the highest concentration in the Halifax Regional Municipality, the province’s South Shore, and the Annapolis Valley. In New Brunswick, meanwhile, N.B. Power’s outage map lists 1,504 customers without power.
N.B. Power has a team of 700 on standby to help with electricity outages. Nova Scotia Power said Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth are its biggest area of concern, so crews were sent there in advance of the storm. Maritime Electric, which provides power for P.E.I., said it had more than 100 people on its team waiting to respond.
All Northumberland Ferries sailings between Wood Islands, P.E.I, and Caribou, N.S., on Saturday are cancelled.
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Bay Ferries has cancelled its Saturday and Sunday crossings between Bar Harbour, Maine, and Yarmouth.
Bay Ferries has also cancelled Saturday crossings between Digby, N.S., and Saint John.
Marine Atlantic has rescheduled its Saturday crossings between North Sydney, N.S. and Port Aux Basque, N.L., to Sunday, weather permitting.
Many flights in and out of the region have been cancelled. Anyone with plans to travel should check the status of their flight with their airline.
In a post to social media on Friday night, Public Safety Canada advised people to avoid non-essential travel and conserve their phone batteries as much possible during the storm.