About 4,000 customers are still in the dark in Cape Breton and eastern Nova Scotia after a winter storm hammered the region on New Year's Day, bringing heavy snowfalls and high winds for residents to contend with.
Nova Scotia Power spokesperson Glennie Langille said crews were out as soon as the sun came up Friday and were "making good progress" getting customers back on the grid.
However, she said high winds and blowing snow were still making it difficult for crews to reach areas such as Guysborough County, in northeastern Nova Scotia.
"The conditions today are still pretty blustery, there's lots of blowing snow, there are blizzard conditions in the Cape Breton highlands," Langille said Friday morning on Â鶹´«Ã½net. "But for the most part we are able to work today and we are hoping to have power restored to most of our customers by supper time."
Snow plows from the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation are expected to take another day or day-and-a-half to clear the province's roads, according to spokesperson Patricia Jreige.
While blizzard warnings for Nova Scotia have been lifted, strong winds and blowing snow are reducing visibility on many of the province's roads.
"We ask that drivers proceed with caution and adjust their speed to the weather conditions," Jreige said Friday afternoon on Â鶹´«Ã½net.
Environment Canada's senior climatologist, David Phillips, told Â鶹´«Ã½net that the storm "got sort of a shot of adrenaline" when it reached Atlantic Canada, after moving in from the Prairies.
"It really did a number -- huge amounts of snow, very strong winds, wind-chills of about -20, it was very, very uncomfortable," he said.
Thursday's storm dumped between 30 and 40 centimetres of snow on Halifax, breaking a 50-year-old snowfall record for the region, according to meteorologist Richard Zurawski.
After many flights were grounded on Thursday, Halifax's Stanfield International Airport is back up and running, with many flights listed as on time, according to the airport's website.
However, as of 1:30 p.m. ET Friday, ten flights were listed as delayed.
According to Zurawski, the high winds were the biggest factor in shutting down airport operations yesterday.
"With winds gusting upwards of 100 kilometres per hour, it made it difficult for anybody trying to travel via air," Zurawaski said Friday during an interview on Canada AM.
The storm is expected to move on to Newfoundland and Labrador through Friday and into early Saturday. Parts of the region are expected to receive about 15 centimetres of snow.
With files from The Canadian Press
