Powerful thunderstorms sweep through Nova Scotia
Thousands of Nova Scotia Power customers were without power Sunday evening after heavy rain, thunder and lightning swept through the region.
"It felt as if a hurricane suddenly dropped in and said hello for five or 10 minutes," Brett Sanford told CBC News after a tree in his backyard on Adelaide Avenue in Halifax was knocked down. "It basically looked like something from Florida."
As of 6:49 p.m., Nova Scotia Power reported 35,594 customers were affected across the province, from as west as Yarmouth to as east as Reserve Mines. Earlier in the day, there were 44,256 customers without electricity.
The majority of the outages were caused by damage to transmission equipment.
All of mainland Nova Scotia was under a severe thunderstorm watch for much of the day, and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for some areas.
In addition to trees branches falling, there were also reports of localized flooding around the region.
A video circulating on social media showed lightning striking one of the towers at the Tufts Cove Generating Station in Dartmouth.
Nova Scotia Power confirmed the strike, but said it didn't disrupt any power generation. There are protective devices on the towers to prevent damage from lightning.
The estimated power restoration times range from 7:15 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.
Most of the customers affected are in the Halifax area around Prospect, Brookside, Shad Bay, Goodwood, Terence Bay, Beechviille, Timberlea, Bedford, Hammonds Plains, Upper Hammonds Plains and Lucasville.
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