A 54-year-old man drowned west of Halifax on Saturday, after trying to secure a boat that had broken free of its mooring as tropical storm Earl barrelled through the province.

Johnny Mitchell Jr. was wearing a life jacket when he set out with another man to secure the boat in Blind Bay near Bayside, police said. He tried to swim back to shore but didn't make it.

Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office attributed the man's death to the storm, which made landfall near Halifax with winds of around 100 kilometres per hour by midday.

"I am deeply saddened by this tragedy, which further underscores the severity of hurricanes and major weather events," said a statement from Ramona Jennex, the minister responsible for the EMO.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre said Earl was considered a tropical storm around noon when it made landfall about 85 kilometres southwest of Lunenburg, N.S.

It proceeded to knock down trees and cut power lines, packing high winds and heavy rain as it moved north across Nova Scotia and eastern Prince Edward Island.

By 4 p.m. ET, Earl had reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence, heading northeast at 83 kph and prompting the Canadian Hurricane Centre to issue a tropical storm warning for southwest Labrador.

Power outages were reported across parts of southern Nova Scotia including in Halifax and the Annapolis Valley. Nova Scotia Power said as many as 220,000 customers had lost post power at one point.

The outages were being restored, though an estimated 150,000 residents were still without power by Saturday evening, Nova Scotia Power said.

Forecaster Chris Fogarty of the Canadian Hurricane Centre said an offshore buoy recorded wind speeds of 120 km/h on Saturday morning.

"The really critical, tree damaging-type winds with possible structural damage -- siding on buildings, shingles and what not -- is likely to occur southeast of the track," he said.

Halifax, Lunenberg, Guysborough and Pictou counties into Antigonish were expected to see the strongest gusts from Earl before it moved north to Prince Edward Island later in the day, where some power outages were also reported.

In Lunenburg, the storm knocked down tree branches and caused damage to local shrubbery. And a 15-metre-tall tree was pulled partway out of the ground.

Still, Lunenburg resident Ruth Seale was surprised that Earl had caused such little damage.

"There was sheets of rain…and huge, great winds -- the trees were just bending," she said.

But Seale admitted she didn't have any power, which meant that "I can't have my tea."

The director of Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office said there were no major incidents to report regarding Earl. But Mike Myette said that doesn't necessarily mean that nothing happened.

"In our experience, it's usually some hours or days after the storm passes before you can really recognize the impact," Myette said Saturday.

RCMP Const. Meredith Darrah said that driving conditions were poor in a number of locations, though no major accidents were reported.

David Rodenhiser, a spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power, said the company had more than 400 employees working to remove downed tree branches and to restore power to affected areas.

"Over the next few hours, we should see the outage numbers go down throughout the central part of the province now that the winds are dying down and our crews can really get some good work going," he told CTV News Channel on Saturday afternoon.

Rodenhiser also warned residents not to remove downed tree branches that are touching power lines because they could be electrocuted. Residents in the province can call the company at 1-877-428-6004, he said, and crews will remove the branches safely.

In southern New Brunswick, heavy rains prompted Saint John to block off Saints Rest Beach, so that residents wouldn't watch the waves from the shoreline. A similar action was taken by Nova Scotia RCMP who closed the road to Peggy's Cove, the popular tourist site and lighthouse.

With files The Canadian Press