Freezing temperatures, high winds trigger closures and power outages on P.E.I.

Strong winds and freezing cold temperatures created a number of weather woes for Islanders Friday.

All public schools were closed for the day, and more than 18,000 Maritime Electric customers across the Island were without power, some for hours.

Schools closed on P.E.I. as strong winds hit the province

Nash Alonto was one of them. He said he woke up to no power in his Stratford home — which meant his heater was off.

"It was kind of really cold," he said, "It was... a bit worrying for me."

Alonto said his power was out for about 10 to 20 minutes after that before coming back on.

Nash Alonto said he woke to no power in his Stratford home on Friday morning. (Daniel Brown/CBC)

Maritime Electric spokesperson Kim Griffin told CBC News it was a challenging morning for the utility's crews