Update: As of 12:45 p.m. power has been restored in both Martins River and Chester Basin.
Thousands of homes on the South Shore are currently without power due to heavy snow and winds across the area.
Two major outages in Chester Basin and Martins River are affecting approximately 3,000 custumers.
The outage in Chester Basin is believed to have started around 11 a.m. and Nova Scotia Power estimates power will be restored by 7 p.m. tonight.

Two major power outages are affecting Martins River and Chester Basin. Photo: NS Power Outage Map
In Martins River power cut out at a similar time and restorations is also expected around 7 p.m.
The estimated restoration times are based on Nova Scotia Powers’ Outage Map. The estimates are generated by a computer program that often over or underestimates restoration times so it is advised that you check often for updates.
Nova Scotia Power says they anticipated outages and have dispatched over 300 crews across the province to deal with outages.
“We are expecting significant heavy wet snow, rainfall and winds up to 100 km/h across the province,” says Lia MacDonald, Vice President, Transmission, Distribution and Delivery. “We want our customers to know we are ready, and we are responding as it is safe to do so.”
Other smaller outages are affecting other areas of the South Shore but no other outages exceed 100 affected customers.