Widespread power outages force some schools to close
After cancellations and delays at Halifax airport Friday morning, some flights are still experiencing delays
Power outages continue across parts of Nova Scotia for a second day and have forced some schools in the province to close.
As of 2:42 PM Friday, about 8,800 power customers were without power from New Ross to Cape Breton after heavy, wet snow blanketed much of the province on Thursday. According to a post on Nova Scotia Power's website, the utility restored power to 25,000 customers on Thursday.
"Our crews will be working hard throughout the day to restore power for remaining customers," the utility said in the post.
Abandoned vehicles from the storm Thursday night were still on the side of roads across the Halifax region Friday morning.
The fallout from Thursday's storm continued to wreak havoc on flights at Halifax Stanfield International Airport Friday morning with about a dozen flights cancelled or delayed. There are delays for some afternoon and evening flights, so people are urged to check their flight status before leaving for the airport.
The following schools were closed Friday due to power outages in the Halifax Regional Centre for Education:
- Cavalier Drive Elementary.
- Halifax West High.
- Hammonds Plains Consolidated.
- Holland Road Elementary.
- Millwood Elementary.
- Musquodoboit Rural High.
- Musquodoboit Valley Education Centre.
- Oldfield Consolidated.
- O'Connell Drive Elementary.
For a full list of school closures and other cancellations, check out the updated list at Storm Centre.
Cellphone problems
The outages on Thursday evening may have also impacted cellphone data usage.
Katie Hatfield, a spokesperson for Bell Aliant, said in an email on Friday that eight wireless sites —out of several hundred in Nova Scotia — were running on backup batteries and generators.
She also said slowdowns in data access may have been related to "extraordinarily higher usage in certain areas, such as along Highway 102."