Winter storm blasts Atlantic provinces

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Ronald Toombs clears snow in North Rustico, Prince Edward Island on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014. A major winter storm has battered the Maritimes with high winds, blowing snow and storm surges along the coast. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Heavy snow and high winds are wreaking havoc across the Atlantic provinces, causing power outages and dangerous driving conditions.

The storm blanketed New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island with snow overnight Saturday and brought a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow to Nova Scotia.

Up to 35 centimetres of snow was expected across Newfoundland on Sunday, with winds gusting up to 130 kilometres an hour in some areas.

The Confederation Bridge connecting New Brunswick and P.E.I. was closed on Sunday morning.

RCMP say deteriorating road conditions and near-zero visibility caused a five-vehicle pileup on the P.E.I. side of the bridge, but no one was seriously injured.

More than 2,000 Nova Scotia Power customers were without power Sunday morning, although that number had dropped to about 200 by early afternoon.

The Mounties in parts of Newfoundland were warning residents only to venture out in emergencies because of whiteout driving conditions.