Holiday havoc
High winds cause power outages, cancellations across Cape Breton on Christmas Day, Boxing Day
A winter storm played havoc on holiday plans and travel across Cape Breton on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
A low-pressure system caused precipitation and winds to lash much of the East Coast, including Cape Breton.
The storm caused power outages across the island with more than 3,500 Nova Scotia Power customers without electricity Monday evening into Tuesday. In total, about 158,000 Nova Scotians were affected by outages.
High winds also caused cancellations at the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport as well as Marine Atlantic ferry crossings.
Eric Murrin of Glace Bay was among passengers affected by cancellations. Murrin’s flight was scheduled to leave Sydney at 5 a.m., Tuesday.
“I was heading back to Fort McMurray to go to work, I was supposed to be at work on Wednesday,” said Murrin, who’s been travelling to Alberta for work for 14 years.
“(Air Canada) told me they couldn’t get me another flight until Tuesday night at 7:15 p.m. and that I’d have to stay the night in Halifax on my own dollar.
“I can’t get to Fort McMurray until Wednesday at 5 p.m., which means I miss my work shift — not only am I going to have to fork over money out of my own pocket, but I’m also going to miss a day of work, which would be like a $600 or $700 day.”
Marine Atlantic was forced to cancel crossings between North Sydney to Port aux Basques, N.L., on Christmas Day.
The company also issued a travel advisory for today, noting both crossings scheduled for 11:45 a.m. and 11:45 p.m. from North Sydney have been moved to 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. However, Marine Atlantic also warned of a potential travel impact for Thursday due to impending weather conditions in the Cabot Strait.
Doug Mercer, meteorologist for Environment Canada, said Monday’s storm came up the Gulf of Maine and went straight up the Bay of Fundy moving across the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
“The first batch of winds you were getting were strong galeforce easterly winds, which developed during the day,” he said. “The winds shifted over to the southwest and in a lot of places winds were gusting up towards 100 km/h.”
The strongest wind guests were reported in Grand Étang in Inverness County with winds hitting 111 km/h. Meanwhile, the Eskasoni area saw winds of 108 km/h, while the Sydney area had winds of 102 km/h.
“The folks up towards Cheticamp and Grand Étang got it the worst because they had stronger than average les suêtes (winds) and it immediately flipped over to the southwest,” said Mercer.
Along with the winds, a mix of snow and rain covered roadways, forcing motorists across the island to use extra caution during holiday travels.
There were no disruptions in bus service in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, as Transit Cape Breton did not have any buses on the road because of Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
Power outages also caused the cancellation of opening day at Ski Ben Eoin on Tuesday. The ski hill will now open for season today at 9 a.m.
More strong winds are in the forecast for the next couple days, with wind speeds expected to be around 40-60 km/h in the Sydney area. However, Mercer said the west side of the island can expect winds to be a “little bit stronger” at times.
Today’s forecast for the Sydney area sees a mix of sun and cloud with a 30 per cent chance of flurries and high winds. The temperature is expected to fall to -11 in the afternoon.