Preparations underway as Nova Scotia braces for another strong December storm

HRM and the rest of Nova Scotia remain under a special weather statement before another December storm. The national forecaster says a large area of rain will make its way into the region late Sunday and will continue to intensify through the overnight hours and into Monday.

The storm is expected to bring winds gusting to 100 km/h for most, and in some areas of Cape Breton, those gusts could reach 120 km.h,  Forecasters say the storm could produce rainfall amounts of 50 to 70 mm or more, adding that the rainfall amounts will not likely peak until Monday night. The storm is also forecast to bring high waves and surf along the coast and will produce higher-than-normal water levels along the Atlantic coast near high tide at midnight Monday night and again near noon on Tuesday.

In advance of the storm, Nova Scotia Power says it will open its emergency operations centre Monday morning, adding that the utility is working closely with the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office and crews are being positioned in various communities across the province, so they are ready to respond quickly when it’s safe to do so.

“High winds can cause trees to come into contact with power lines, damaging equipment and causing power outages,” said Drover. “They can also slow restoration efforts depending on the extent of the damage they cause and force crews to stand down when winds reach 80km an hour, as it isn’t safe to be up in the buckets,” said Nova Scotia Power Storm Lead Matt Drover. NSP also reminds customers that they can report outages and get estimated restoration times online at outagemap.nspower.ca or by calling 1-877-428-6004