It's been a wet one

Published on August 23rd, 2009

Published on January 30th, 2010

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com (UPDATED 2 P.M. SUNDAY)

It's been a wet day in Nova Scotia on Sunday as a weakened Hurricane Bill passes through.

Environment Canada’s forecast posted at 11 a.m. still had a rainfall and tropical storm watch in place for Yarmouth, although the precipitation the area had received earlier in the morning had tapered off. By shortly after 1 p.m. parts of the county were already under blue skies and sun.

Shortly before 2 p.m. Environment Canada ended rainfall and tropical storm warnings for Yarmouth County, along with other parts of western Nova Scotia like Digby and Annapolis Royal. These same warnings, along with wind warnings, had also ended in Shelburne and Queens counties.

As of 9 a.m. Sunday, the eye of the Category 1 storm had been 150 kilometres south southeast of Yarmouth on the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia, the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth had said. The storm was reportedly moving quickly at 48 km/h northeast.

Hurricane Bill dampened Yarmouth Sunday morning, as heavy rains fell all morning leading to accumulations of water in low areas on town streets. There were some branches down but nothing apparently major within the town. Winds had gusted to around 60.

Parts of Yarmouth County that had experienced power outages around 10:30 a.m. saw their power restored shortly after noon. Some of the areas in the morning that had suffered power outages included Sawdust Trail, Chebogue, Arcadia, Melbourne, Pinkneys Point, parts of Tusket and surrounding areas.

NS Power had reported just under 5,000 customers in parts of the province without power around 11:45 a.m. By 2 p.m. as the storm had tracked through Nova Scotia, NS Power's website indicated more than 19,000 customers were without power in the province. Outages had been reported in Kenvtille, Wolfville, St. Margaret’s Bay, metro Halifax and the western part of HRM, Windsor, Bridgewater, Liverpoo and Sydney/Cape Breton.

Throughout the morning on Sunday, a hurricane watch continued for eastern mainland Nova Scotia and southern Cape Breton, with potential winds of 120 km/h and gusts of up to 140 km/h. The storm has been expected to make landfall in Newfoundland Sunday night.

Despite the RCMP warning people to stay away from shorelines, at Peggy’s Cove Sunday morning there were reports of cars lined up on the highway and people on the rocks watching the surf. During a press briefing by the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Dartmouth Sunday morning supervisor Peter Bowyer warned people against venturing close to coastal areas. With the public not heeding these warnings, officials closed the access roads to Peggy's Cove and Lawrencetown Beach.

In the province, provincial parks and beaches were closed Saturday at 5 p.m. in anticipation of Hurricane Bill. They were slated to reopen on Monday. The storm also affected flights and ferry service in the province. The Cat did not sail on Sunday but was expected to resume its normal schedule on Monday.