A gusty and hefty winter storm continued to make its way through Atlantic Canada on Thursday evening, as thousands of Nova Scotians waited for their power to be restored.

The storm, which was expected to dump as much as 60 centimetres of snow in some parts of Cape Breton and eastern Nova Scotia by the time it was over on Friday morning, left nearly 11,000 Nova Scotian customers without power as of 10 p.m. Thursday.

Nova Scotia Power spokesperson Glennie Langille said the harsh weather -- which left much of the province in whiteout conditions throughout the day -- was making it difficult for utility crews to do their jobs.

"One of the challenges with high winds and snow is problem trees -- trees touching lines, trees coming down on lines," Langille said Thursday.

"It's a severe winter storm."

The storm brought air traffic to a standstill at Halifax Stanfield International airport, which saw few flights take off in the wake of gusting winds that reached speeds of 100 kilometres per hour at times on Thursday.

Airport spokesperson Peter Spurway said the storm did not appear to be letting up in favour of air travellers.

"The forecast calls for the snow to stay with us...and with no abatement in the winds at all, so this does not augur well for air travel."

The situation at Charlottetown Airport was not much better, where flights were also either cancelled or delayed.

The storm's high winds also closed off the Confederation Bridge between P.E.I and New Brunswick to a number of vehicles on Thursday afternoon, including cars with trailers in tow, motorcycles and high-sided vehicles.

The storm even had police in both provinces telling residents to stay off the roads on New Year's Day if they could.

"Unless people are facing an emergency situation, drivers are strongly advised to stay home, for everyone's safety," Janice Durkee, shift supervisor at the RCMP communications centre in Nova Scotia, told The Canadian Press.

"If driving is necessary, drivers are urged to use extreme caution and expect slowed traffic and possible delays as visibility is reduced by snow and wind."

RCMP Const. Cheryl Duffy told the Charlottetown Guardian that "if people are considering going out on the roads in these conditions they are putting themselves at high risk."

All in all, 20 centimetres of snow fell on Prince Edward Island on Thursday, between 10 and 15 centimetres arrived on the ground in southeastern New Brunswick and as much as 15 centimetres of snow was expected to fall on parts of western Newfoundland and coastal Labrador.

With files from The Canadian Press