Hurricane Arthur, which was weakened to a post-tropical storm, has battered south-east Canada leaving more than 200,000 homes and businesses without power.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick bore the brunt of the storm’s torrential rain and strong winds.
Forecasters say Arthur will move north-east through the Gulf of St Lawrence towards Newfoundland on Sunday.
On Friday, Arthur hit North Carolina with hurricane-force winds and later skirted New England.
Tropical storm Arthur has battered south-east Canada leaving more than 200,000 homes and businesses without power
Late on Saturday, the Canadian Hurricane Center said Arthur was centered near Moncton in New Brunswick after making a second landfall in Canada.
Trees were blown down and power was cut to more than 141,000 customers in Nova Scotia and 110,000 in New Brunswick.
The largest number of outages was reported in Fredericton where winds of more than 62mph had brought down a number of large trees.
Police in Saint John, New Brunswick, said some roads were closed by flooding.
The storm also caused flight cancellations and delays at the region’s largest airport in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Prince Edward Island said electricity poles had been knocked down and roads were blocked by fallen trees.
New England was largely spared major damage although about 19,000 people in Maine and 1,600 in Vermont were left without power.
Daniel Brown, a specialist at the US National Hurricane Center, said Arthur had now lost its tropical characteristics and had become “more a wintertime-type low”.
Arthur was the first hurricane to hit the US since Superstorm Sandy devastated New York and New Jersey in October 2012.
By 9 a.m. Friday, Hurricane Arthur had weakened to Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds around 90 mph and additional weakening expected, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane Arthur has weakened to Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds around 90 mph and additional weakening expected (photo NBC News)
The storm was moving northeast Friday morning after turning slightly west late Thursday, which increased the threat to mainland communities from flooding, tornadoes and intense winds.
However, officials in some coastal areas in North Carolina reported few problems Friday morning.
Emerald Isle along the Bogue Banks posted on its website that the July 4th fireworks were still scheduled for Friday evening. The curfew also was lifted. Dare County officials said the northern end of the county, where Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk, are located had reopened.
Hatteras Island on the southern end remained closed because of flooding on North Carolina Highway 12.
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Hurricane Arthur has made landfall in North Carolina, as thousands abandon their Fourth of July holiday plans.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, Hurricane Arthur made its landfall on the Eastern Seaboard late Thursday, after prompting thousands of residents and vacationers to flee the coastline in anticipation.
The first hurricane of the season, now a Category 2 storm, reached land between Cape Lookout and Beaufort at 23.15 local time, the US National Hurricane Center said.
At 2 a.m., the eye of the storm was moving up the west side of the Pamlico Sound.
Hurricane warnings were in place Thursday evening along the North Carolina coast up to the Virginia border, and tropical storm warnings were issued as far north as Nantucket Island and Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
Arthur is expected to bring dangerous surf and rip currents, torrential rain and power outages and extensive flooding in the Outer Banks.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, Hurricane Arthur made its landfall on the Eastern Seaboard late Thursday
Strong winds had already caused thousands of outages Thursday evening in North Carolina, where Beaufort and Dare counties had mandatory evacuation orders in place.
But many were staying put and didn’t think the threat was a serious one.
Emergency officials warned that vacationers could become trapped by rising water if they don’t pay attention to warnings.
In Virginia, beachfront communities scrambled to prepare for the storm, as Arthur’s path moved westward. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake are the areas expected to be hit hardest, but no hurricane watches or warnings were issued in the state.
Late Friday or early Saturday, Hurricane Arthur is expected to make its closest approach to Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Island.
But even those areas not affected by the hurricane’s strong winds and heavy rain may still be under rip current alerts, which have been issued all along the Eastern Seaboard, from Maine to Florida. Rip currents, which pull swimmers away from the shore, are responsible for 80% of surf rescues.
Hurricane Arthur put a damper on Fourth of July celebrations even before making landfall. Boston moved its holiday Pops concert to Thursday. Atlantic City, New Jersey, rescheduled its fireworks display for Sunday. Coastline cities in North Carolina, such as Surf City and Nags Head, either canceled or postponed their scheduled events.
Fireworks displays were also moved to the weekend in Ocean City, Maryland, and Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia. Thursday night’s Philadelphia concert was moved indoors, while Macy’s annual fireworks display in New York City is scheduled to take place July 4.
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