HALIFAX—More than a month after Hurricane Dorian pummelled the Halifax area, its legacy is concerning crews preparing for “weakened” trees to fall across power lines in an upcoming wind storm.

An intense low pressure system is expected to track towards the Halifax region on Thursday, according to Environment Canada, and both a wind warning and special weather statement are in effect for the area.

Wind warnings are issued when there is a “significant risk” of damaging winds.

Southeasterly winds gusting up to 90 km/h are expected to develop Thursday morning, while winds should ease by noon Thursday for western Nova Scotia and by afternoon for the Atlantic coast.

The forecast said damage to buildings, including roof shingles and windows, might occur. High winds may also toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break.

As the storm nears, Nova Scotia Power (NSP) has started mobilizing personnel and resources to prepare for the rough weather in an area still feeling Dorian’s impact.

The hurricane barrelled into the Atlantic region on Sept.7, making landfall as a post-tropical storm with winds reaching between 120 and 150 km/h, and rain in the 100 to 200 millimetre range, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre.

“We know that there are trees across the province that were weakened by Hurricane Dorian last month. With forecasts calling for wind gusts up to 90 km/h, we will be prepared to respond in case trees fall into power lines,” Matt Drover, Storm Lead for Nova Scotia Power, said in a release.

For the Halifax Regional Municipality, Dorian also required staff to assess many street trees and prune them ahead of schedule, or remove them if they were deemed at risk to fall, HRM spokesperson Brynn Budden said in an email Wednesday.

Extra resources have been dedicated to this tree work to “ensure hazards have been addressed,” and Budden said that work is ongoing.

“Currently, the city street tree inventory is in relatively good condition heading into the storm tomorrow. That being said, high winds are always a risk to trees and caution around trees during storms is advised,” Budden said.

Rain is also supposed to begin in western sections of the province in the morning and reach Cape Breton Thursday afternoon.

Total rainfall amounts of 20 to 40 millimetres are expected but may even exceed the warning criteria of 50 mm. The statement said “very intense downpours” are possible during the heaviest rain periods, but those are expected to move through quickly.

Higher than normal water levels and rough surf is also possible along the Atlantic shore during high tide on Thursday.

Halifax’s Emergency Management Office (EMO) will also continue to monitor the situation. Because the peak of the storm is expected to take place during regular business hours, Budden said staff will be able to respond quickly if necessary.

The city said street sweepers were out clearing leaves from catch basins on Wednesday. The Halifax Public Gardens is expected to be closed Thursday for safety reasons, but staff will be monitoring the situation throughout the day.

NSP activated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at noon on Wednesday to plan and manage its storm response. The EOC is the hub for all outage restoration planning and response, and is staffed with employees from all aspects of the company. NSP plans to operate the EOC until the last customer is safely restored.

Crews will begin restoring power as soon as conditions are safe, but if winds gust above 80 km/h, workers will make on-site assessments on whether to stand down for safety.

Nova Scotia Power will also co-ordinate closely with the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office.

Customers can report power outages and get estimated times of restoration online at outagemap.nspower.ca or by calling 1-877-428-6004.

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At the peak of Dorian, NSP said there were about 400,000 people without power in Nova Scotia.

Karen Hutt, CEO of NSP, said at the time that the situation led to a historic number of outages and the largest mobilization of resources in their company’s history, with 1,000 people on the ground including crews from Maine and Florida.

Dorian also uprooted large trees throughout the Halifax region on Sunday, and toppled a tall crane at a South Park Street work site. The cleanup of the dangling crane is still ongoing but nearing completion, as some surrounding buildings and businesses were evacuated for weeks while a provincial state of emergency was also declared in the area.

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