Storm Lee makes landfall in Nova Scotia, claims life in Maine

Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Post-Tropical Storm Lee made landfall in Nova Scotia on Saturday afternoon with near-hurricane-force winds.

The core of the storm moved across Long Island in Western Nova Scotia just before 5 p.m., the National Hurricane Center said in an evening update.

The storm is expected to next move eastward and across the Canadian Maritimes.

"Strong wind shear, dry air, and land interaction should cause steady weakening during the next day or so," the NHC said. "The global models are in agreement that Lee should dissipate on Monday."

Rain bands were continuing to spread across Maine with some tropical storm conditions and coastal flooding in portions of the state.

The tropical storm warning has been discontinued south of Stonington, Maine, as of 8 p.m. Saturday. They remained in effect for New Brunswick from the U.S.-Canada border to Belledune, including Grand Manan Island, all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands.

Police in the Maine town of Searsport said that the storm claimed the life of a 50-year-old man whose car was hit by a tree felled by Lee's winds.

Hundreds of thousands of people were without power in Atlantic Canada earlier Saturday.

More than 117,600 customers in Nova Scotia were without power at 9 p.m. Saturday because of the storm. The province has a total population of just over 971,000. An additional 35,000 customers remained without power in neighboring New Brunswick.

Utility provider Nova Scotia Power turned off electricity to around 6,000 customers in order to begin repairing damaged power poles.

Lee was downgraded from Hurricane status in the early morning hours. Category 1 conditions still exist in the storm's center, where sustained wind speeds remain around 80 mph.

Forecasters said dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents will continue to affect the U.S. East Coast, Atlantic Canada, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Leeward Islands through the weekend.