Thousands of Maritimers are shivering without lights or heat today, as the massive winter storm that virtually paralyzed the U.S. eastern seaboard is now bringing Atlantic Canada its fourth weather wallop in as many weeks.
Around 5 p.m. local time Monday, Nova Scotia Power was reporting more than 6,600 customers without power in that province. And in New Brunswick, NB Power reported more than 10,300 customers were suffering from unplanned outages. Maritime Electric in Prince Edward Island was also reporting about 4,000 outages.
But that's just one headache for people across Atlantic Canada affected by wind, snow and rain that has also delayed flights and made travelling by road a dangerous proposition.
Environment Canada expects the snow that began falling over parts of Quebec and the Maritimes overnight to intensify as the complex low pressure system moves up the American seaboard on Monday.
In weather warnings issued for much of the region, the agency says the storm will get worse as it creeps northeastward from Cape Cod toward Cape Breton.
A swath of New Brunswick, from Malagash to the Acadian Peninsula in the Northumberland Strait, is under the highest threat with between 30 and 40 cm of total snowfall expected in the hardest-hit areas. The entire province has been told to brace for severe weather, however, with snowfall, blizzard and zero-visibility warnings covering most of New Brunswick.
And the east coast of the province, still reeling in the wake of damaging storms just last week, has been warned to expect more storm surges.
"The strong winds associated with this system will give rough and pounding surf to most coastlines of the Maritimes today," Environment Canada said, warning winds will gust in excess of 100 kph. "They will also generate storm surge which will combine with large tides to give higher than normal water levels."
It's the latest blow to New Brunswick residents, who are still weary from weeks of severe weather, including torrential rains that caused widespread flooding in the province's southern end.
Karl Wilmot, a senior manager with the Emergency Measures Organization in New Brunswick, said the storms are having a significant financial and emotional burden on people.
Wilmot said Maritimers are a resilient bunch but "one can only take so much of this stuff, regardless of the fact you have friends and neighbours helping you.
"I think for the most part people are sitting back and absorbing this and just hoping for a break in the weather and some better times down the road," Wilmot told CTV News Channel by telephone from Fredericton.
The storm is also tracking across Nova Scotia, where Environment Canada expects the snow to turn to rain through the afternoon before cold temperatures turn the precipitation back to snow overnight. As much as 20 cm of snow and 50 millimetres of rain are expected.
And in P.E.I., forecasters are calling for rain combined with heavy seas and between 15 and 30 centimetres of snow. While snowfall warnings are in effect for the entire island, storm surge warnings have also been issued for Prince and Queens Counties on the north side of P.E.I.
Based on the forecast of winds gusting up to 95 kph, the operator of the Confederation Bridge linking P.E.I. and New Brunswick expects intermittent traffic disruptions throughout the day.
The storm is expected to be over the Gulf of the St. Lawrence by Monday night, when strong northwesterly are expected to intensify the conditions once again.
"Snowfall amounts will be significant and strong to high northeast winds that accompany this system will give widespread blowing snow," Environment Canada said in winter storm warnings issued for the lower St. Lawrence and Gaspesie regions of Quebec.
Residents of Newfoundland and Labrador will not be spared either, as Environment Canada warns residents of the province's western coast to brace for heavy snowfall and winter storm conditions. Residents on the eastern coast have been told to batten down ahead of winds expected to hit 150 kph in some regions.
This is the fourth major storm to strike the Atlantic provinces in just four weeks.
The powerful storm system is the same one that stranded thousands of would-be air, rail and highway travellers throughout the U.S. northeast over the weekend, as a region stretching from the Carolinas to Maine was buried under a massive dump of snow.
A blizzard warning remained in effect early Monday for an area from Delaware to the far northern tip of Maine, where forecasters say, at its peak, snow could be accumulating at a rate of up to 10 centimetres an hour.
Forecasters say the storm, which began life as a low pressure system off the North Carolina coast, continues to gain strength as it moves northeast.
