Hurricane Lee landfall leaves one dead in Maine, thousands without power

Jump to content Sign up to our newsletters Subscribe News Sports Voices Culture Lifestyle Travel Premium Close Hurricane Lee advances towards US as warnings issued for New England Storm Lee made landfall at around 4pm in far western Nova Scotia , with winds whipping at 70mph, which killed one person and left thousands without electricity. Although it has been downgraded to a ‘post-tropical cyclone,’ it is still producing hurricane-force winds, battering a large swath of New England and Maritime Canada. A 51-year-old motorist died in Searsport, Maine, after a large tree limb fell on his vehicle on a US highway. The tree limb brought down live power lines, and utility workers had to cut power before the man could be removed, said police chief Brian Lunt. The storm was so big that it caused power outages several hundred miles from its center. At midday Saturday, 11 per cent of electricity customers in Maine lacked power, along with 27 per cent of Nova Scotia, 8 per cent of New Brunswick and 3 per cent of Prince Edward Island. Although both Massachusetts and Maine previously declared states of emergency, Massachusetts lifted its state of emergency on Saturday. The Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for hundreds of miles of coastline from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia, affecting some 9 million people. 1694957406 Post-tropical cyclone Lee made landfall at near-hurricane strength Saturday, bringing destructive winds, rough surf and torrential rains to New England and Maritime Canada. But officials withdrew some warnings for the region late Saturday night. The US National Hurricane Center discontinued a tropical storm warning for the coast of Maine, while Environment Canada ended its tropical storm warning in New Brunswick. A tropical storm warning remained in effect for parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 14:30 1694953849 About 144,000 people were without power on Saturday after strong winds due to storm Lee downed trees. In neighboring New Brunswick, 37,000 people had no electricity. ‘Crews have been able to restore power to some customers … however, conditions are getting worse,’ Matt Drover of the Nova Scotia electric utility told Reuters. ‘In many cases, especially when winds are above 80 kmph, it isn’t safe for our crews.’ In a social media post, Nova Scotia police said they had received reports of drivers heading to the coast to watch the waves, which they said was dangerous. A downed tree hangs on power lines in Nova Scotia, Canada Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 13:30 1694950249 Heavy downpour is expected to continue through Sunday in the Prince Edward Island province of Canada, the forecasters said. Storm Lee made landfall in far western Nova Scotia, with winds whipping at 70mph, which killed one person and left thousands without electricity. Lee is on track to turn northeast and pass over Saturday night into Sunday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 12:30 1694946620 Hurricane Lee made landfall in Western Novia Scotia on Saturday, as millions in New England and Canada have been preparing for its devastation. Maximum sustained winds were at 70mph, as of 4pm when the storm reached land about 50 miles from Eastport, Maine and about 135 miles from Halifax, Nova Scotia, according to the National Hurricane Center. Earlier on Saturday, the storm had been downgraded from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 11:30 1694943020 A teenager drowned while in rough waters of the Atlantic on Wednesday, authorities in Florida said. The 15-year-old was with two other people when he fell off a raft, Fernandina Beach Police Department told Fox Weather. The other two were brought back to the shore and rushed to a local medical centre while authorities searched for the missing teen. The group had ventured into the ocean despite multiple red flags warnings about the rough waters ahead of storm Lee’s landfall. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 10:30 1694939420 Billy Bob Faulkingham, House Republican leader of the Maine Legislature, and another lobsterman survived after their boat overturned while hauling traps ahead of the storm, officials said. The boat’s emergency locator beacon alerted authorities, and the two clung to the hull until help arrived, said Winter Harbor Police chief Danny Mitchell. The 42-foot boat sank.’They’re very lucky to be alive,’ Mr Mitchell said. Forecasters urged residents to stay home, but many ventured out anyway. Betsy Follansbee and her husband, Fred, jogged to Higgins Beach in Scarborough, Maine, to watch surfers – some wearing helmets – paddling out to catch waves reaching 12 feet. They were the biggest waves Follansbee has seen in her 10 years living there, she said.’We’re impressed that they’re bold enough to try,’ Ms Follansbee said. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 09:30 1694935820 When it comes to hurricanes, New England can’t compete with Florida or the Caribbean. But scientists said Friday the arrival of storms like Hurricane Lee this weekend could become more common in the region as the planet warms, including in places such as the Gulf of Maine. One recent study found climate change could result in hurricanes expanding their reach more often into mid-latitude regions, which include New York, Boston and even Beijing. The study says the factors include warmer sea surface temperatures in these regions and the shifting and weakening of the jet streams, which are the strong bands of air currents encircling the planet in both hemispheres. Climate scientists say storms like Hurricane Lee could become more common in the future as the Gulf of Maine and other bodies of water rapidly warm Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 08:30 1694932220 Thousands of people were left without power as storm Lee made landfall in Nova Scotia, flooding roads and fanning anxiety in a region still reeling from wildfires and severe flooding this summer. The province’s largest airport, Halifax Stanfield International, cancelled all flights. “People are exhausted. … It’s so much in such a small time period,” said Pam Lovelace, a councilor in Halifax. The storm was so big that it caused power outages several hundred miles from its center. At midday Saturday, 11 per cent of electricity customers in Maine lacked power, along with 27 per cent of Nova Scotia, 8 per cent of New Brunswick and 3 per cent of Prince Edward Island. Hurricane-force winds extended as far as 140 miles from Lee’s center, with tropical storm-force winds extending as far as 320 miles – enough to cover all of Maine and much of Maritime Canada. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 07:30 1694928620 People walk in the rain and wind from Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee A tree on the ground is pictured after taking down the power lines and shutting off access to this road in Liverpool, Nova Scotia Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 06:30 1694926143 A 51-year-old motorist in Searsport, Maine, died after a large tree limb fell on his vehicle Saturday on US Highway 1 during a period of high winds, the first fatality attributed to the storm. The tree limb brought down live power lines, and utility workers had to cut power before the man could be removed, said Police chief Brian Lunt. The unidentified man died later at a hospital, he said. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar 17 September 2023 05:49 People walk in the rain and wind from Post-Tropical Cyclone Lee Getty Images Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in