On December 5, 2025, Atlantic Canada was inundated with weather impacts due to the rapid intensification of a hurricane. Cape Breton was particularly hard hit, with the village of Grand Etang recording extreme westerly gusts topping out at 102 km/h. This new area has gained fame for its particularly vicious wind patterns, further complicating the plight of its residents.
Snow squall and high wind warnings were posted across most of Newfoundland and southern Labrador. Gusts of up to 120 km/h were predicted in coastal communities for the centre and east provinces. This extreme weather—including the heat, flooding, and storms—resulted in over 513,000 power outages at their peak. At the height of the storm, more than 22,000 Maritime electric customers were without power.
And right before 10 a.m. local time as crews from the utility raced to restore order and services. With skillful outreach, they got those outages down to about 2,200 customer outages. Sagona Island—just south of Harbour Breton, in Fortune Bay—recorded a ferocious gust to 125 km/h at 9 a.m. This is a stark illustration of just how strong the storm actually was.
Prince Edward Island was swathed in strong winds as well, with peak gusts reaching 92 km/h. Both North Cape and East Point registered these stellar wind speeds. Due to the hazardous conditions, all public schools on Prince Edward Island closed their doors for safety, keeping students out of school.
By the time the storm passed through, New Brunswick was spared the worst of the impacts. At the same time, the northeastern corner of mainland Nova Scotia in addition to all of Cape Breton were battered by extreme snow squalls. Forecasts ahead of the storm predicted gusts in these areas of up to 70 to 100 km/h, exacerbating already significant hazardous travel conditions.
