Atlantic storm Lee lashes New England and Canada

Atlantic storm Lee slammed into Nova Scotia on Saturday, bringing high winds and heavy rains to much of New England and Canada‘s Maritime provinces.

The storm, which had been classified as a hurricane as late as Saturday morning, toppled trees and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people, according to reporting from the Associated Press. One person was killed in the town of Searsport, Maine, when a large tree limb fell on his vehicle.

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Lee sustained winds of about 70 miles per hour when it made landfall and caused flooding on coastal roads in Nova Scotia. Ferry service in the area was also canceled. Hurricane watches had been put into effect for most of the New England coastline, including Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and storm surge warnings were in place in eastern Cape Cod.

The storm had at one point been classified as a Category 5 hurricane as it gathered strength over the Caribbean; it was described by meteorologists as one of the fastest-intensifying storms in years. It rapidly weakened as it moved north, however.

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Still, the storm was strong enough to rip boats from their moorings, cause damage to property, and leave 11% of Maine’s electricity customers without power as of noon Saturday. Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) had declared a state of emergency Thursday in anticipation of the storm’s impact.

It has been an especially wet summer for Maine and other parts of New England, which have seen localized flash flooding in recent weeks.