Thousands without power after rain and strong winds hit Nova Scotia

Thousands of customers are without power in Nova Scotia afterstrong winds and heavy rain sweptacross the province Thursday night and Friday morning.

At its peak, as many as 18,000 power customers were without electricity.

Power outages are scattered across Nova Scotia. As of noon AT, there were about 8,400 customers without electricity, according to Nova Scotia Power.

Sydney's Wash Brook overflowed its banks after heavy rainfall overnight and into Friday morning. So the far, the brook hasn't reached any nearby homes or buildings. By noon on Friday, the rainfall warning had been lifted.

The Southend Community Centre, which was condemned after the October floods, lost part of its roof to the winds Thursday night.

Power crews busy

Bev Ware, Nova Scotia Power spokeswoman, said NSP crews had a tough timeovernight duringthe peak of the storm across mainland Nova Scotia.

"They did a great job overnight. They were working in some very tough conditions with extreme winds and heavy rains. We are still feeling the effects of these powerful winds in the eastern part of the province in the Cape Breton area this morning," she said.

Ware also said there are risks for crews working in bad weather.

"It's challenging for the power line technicians to be working when the winds are so high because they have to go up in the bucket trucks and safety is always our top concern. We had crews out since late last evening working all night long to restore power."

Highway 3 west of Halifax was briefly closed nearSimms Settlement, according to RCMP, as power crews dealt with a downed line. The stretch of roadhas reopened.

• Check out Storm Centre for the latest cancellations and closures

• FORECAST | Messy mix of wind and rain to hit Nova Scotia Thursday night and Friday

The Canso Causeway was briefly closed Friday morning to high-sided vehicles but has reopened to all traffic. The LaHave and Tancook Island ferries are suspended.

Inverness County-Mabou and North were under Les Sutes wind warnings with winds gusting up to 170 km/h overnight.