A spring storm is bringing lots of rain to Halifax and much of Nova Scotia, along with high wind gusts and causing outages around the province.
As of 9:30 a.m., Nova Scotia Power’s outage map is showing more than 28,000 power outages provincewide.
At this hour, those outages include around 4,700 outages over a large portion of Dartmouth from Akerley Boulevard to the Dartmouth Commons.
As well, around 5,200 customers in the Clayton Park area are in the dark, with Mount Saint Vincent University announcing its campuses will remain closed until further notice as it deals with power issues.
A rainfall and wind warning, both yellow-level, are in effect for the Halifax area, calling for heavy rain and strong winds.
“It’s a widespread 30 to 50 mm of rain in the Halifax area, and I think most will be in the 40 to 50 mm range, and because we could see localized downpours or thunderstorms, there could be pockets of 60 mm” said CityNews Meteorologist Allister Aalders. “In terms of the winds, they will peak on Tuesday morning, southerly gusting 50 to 80, sometimes 90 or even 100 km/h.”
Aalders says rain began Monday evening, tapered off overnight, before returning back strong on Tuesday morning.
Environment Canada says the heavy rain and melting snow could cause flooding in some areas with poor drainage, and says strong winds could lead to power outages.
The agency also suggests people should take measures to ensure loose items are secured in outdoor areas.
Temperatures are expected to be about 11 C, which the weather authority says is an “abnormal temperature trend.”
If Haligonians can get through Tuesday, the forecast promises days of dry weather and sun with temperatures hovering around 0 C.
