Crews working to repair storm related outages in Atlantic Canada

HALIFAX – A storm that lashed Atlantic Canada with driving rain and high winds left thousands of customers without power Thursday.

Crews were working to restore electricity in Nova Scotia, where more than 38,000 customers were coping with blackouts at one point.

Fewer than 5,000 customers were without power in New Brunswick by early morning. Outages were also reported in parts of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Winds could be heard howling throughout the night in Halifax, where power was knocked out in parts of the city including its downtown.

The storm also forced the cancellation of some flights and ferry sailings in the Atlantic region. The confederation bridge between P.E.I. and New Brunswick restricted certain vehicles, including tractor-trailers and buses, from crossing the span due to strong winds.

The storm was expected to continue hammering Newfoundland and Labrador on Thursday, with winds gusting up to 130 kilometres an hour on the island’s west coast.

Environment Canada was also warning of high waves and pounding surf along the south coast, where upwards of 110 millimetres of rain was expected.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s Fire and Emergency Services issued a statement Wednesday urging residents to be cautious around coastlines, particularly in the southwestern corner of the province.