Power coming back on for thousands of New Brunswickers

Thunderstorms knocked out power in parts of the province, with 25,000 out during the peak

CBC News Posted: May 28, 2015 4:24 PM AT Last Updated: May 28, 2015 9:51 PM AT

 

Several thousand New Brunswickers are still without power, after thunderstorms rolled through several parts of the province.

NB Power says lightning caused a transmission outage affecting a number of communities in the greater Fredericton area.

Initially, more than 25,000 NB Power customers were without electricity.
By 10:00 p.m., that number had dropped to 3,700, mostly in the Fredericton and Woodstock areas.

 

Environment Canada had issued a thunderstorm watch for Fredericton and Southern York County, Grand Falls and Victoria County, Grand Lake and Queens County, Kent

County, Kouchibouguac National Park, Miramichi, Mount Carleton, Oromocto and Sunbury County, Stanley - Doaktown - Blackville Area, St. Stephen and Northern Charlotte County, and Woodstock and Carleton County.

As soon as the storm hit Fredericton, streets quickly flooded and some cars were abandoned as their owners tried to get away from the storm.

The trigger for the storms was a weak cold front that dipped down into the province out of Quebec, according to CBC meteorologist Kalin Mitchell.

"The heat and humidity fueling the thunderstorms are producing frequent lightning, heavy downpours, and strong winds gusts in excess of 60 km/h.

"As the sun sets tonight the thunderstorms will weaken rapidly," Mitchell said.

Lightning Strikes Church in Grand Isle Maine

 By Allison Sonfist

 

Updated 2 hours ago

 

A storm in Grand Isle, Maine, on Wednesday night sent a powerful bolt of lightning through the St. Gerard-Mount Carmel Parish. 

 

The incredible sight was caught on camera by 16-year-old Carl Bouley.

 

According to the Grand Isle fire chief, the same church was hit by lightning in 2007, WCSH reported. This time, some shingles were knocked off the church and there is some electrical damage to the wiring inside.

 

A couple of homes near the church also received some electrical damage.