Strong winds and heavy rain are causing havoc with Quebec’s power grid, with more than 210,000 customers without power today.
Hydro-Quebec says the intense depression coming from New England has hit several areas of the province, as winds of 90 kilometres per hour cause branches and trees to knock down power lines.
READ MORE: High winds cause power outages, school closures in Quebec
The utility says some 300 linemen are working to fix problems in every part of the province – the hardest hit being the Monteregie region south of Montreal.
The same weather system is expected to reach parts of Atlantic Canada later today.
Environment Canada says the low pressure system over New England will continue to strengthen as it moves north.
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The Maritime provinces can expect wind gusts reaching 90 kilometres per hour before the system moves into western Newfoundland where winds up to 150 kilometres per hour are expected later this evening.
The national weather forecaster says up to 30 millimetres of rain could fall across the Maritimes, and rough surf is also expected.
Thousands of people in the United States were without power early Monday as the storm blew through the northeast.
Southern New England appeared to suffer the brunt of the storm damage overnight.
READ MORE: What Canadians can expect this winter from coast to coast
Eversource reported more than 150,000 Connecticut customers were without power around 2 a.m. Monday. National Grid also reported more than 130,000 customers were without power in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The National Weather Service said there were reports of downed trees and power lines around the region and roads that were impassible due to flash flooding.
The same storm system also caused problems in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
It began making its way up the East Coast on Sunday, which was also the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.
That 2012 storm was blamed for at least 182 deaths in the United States and Caribbean and more than $71 billion in damage in the United States.
With files from the Associated Press
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