Thousands without power in wake of Nova Scotia storm

Thousands of Nova Scotia Power customers could be in the dark until mid-morning Thursday after a spring blizzard pounded the region on Wednesday.

At the height of the outages, more than 17,000 customers were without power.

According to the Nova Scotia Power website, some users could have their power restored late Wednesday night. Others may not get power back until 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.

All of the power outages were caused by blowing wind and snow, according to the utility's website.

Among the areas that may not get electricity back until Thursday are Liverpool, Shelburne, Digby, Bridgetown, Kingston and Truro.

Sean Irvine, the director of provincial operations for EMO Nova Scotia, said a warming centre has been set up at the fire hall in Lockport.

The Maritime region has been warned about potentially damaging winds on Wednesday, gusting up to more than 100 kilometres per hour in some areas. CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell said that will cause low visibility.

Nova Scotia and P.E.I.could see between 40 to 50 centimetres by day's end.