Watch drone video inside Fiona's rage 0:40
(CNN) --
Hurricane Fiona, now known as a post-tropical cyclone, made landfall in Nova Scotia and crossed Canada's Atlantic coast early Saturday in what could be a "historic" weather event for the country.
An unofficial barometric pressure of 931.6 mb was recorded on Hart Island, which would make Fiona the lowest pressure landfalling storm on record in Canada, according to the Canadian Hurricane Center.
Wind observations on Beaver Island in eastern Nova Scotia were recorded at 152 km/h (94 mph).
Parts of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island began to feel the storm's approach Saturday morning as winds and rain spreading far from the storm's center knocked out utility services.
More than 376,000 customers across Nova Scotia have been without power so far, according to the region's blackout center.
The winds spread far from the center of Fiona.
Residents of New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador are also facing severe weather as Fiona heads north at more than 40 mph (65 km/h) after making landfall between Canso and Guysborough in the eastern Nova Scotia.
Fiona is expected to pass Cape Breton Island on Saturday morning and reach the southeastern Labrador Sea in the evening.
"The storm is producing strong winds and very heavy rain," the Canadian Hurricane Center said before making landfall.
"Broad gusts of 80-110 km/h (50-68 mph) have been reported so far over Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Iles-de-la-Madeleine, with a maximum gust of 144 km/h (90 mph) over Beaver Island, Nova Scotia."
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Fiona weakened slightly to a Category 2 storm on Friday, but is still expected to bring destructive storm surge, heavy rain and strong winds.
Fiona had been a Category 4 storm early Wednesday over the Atlantic after passing the Turks and Caicos Islands and remained that way through Friday afternoon.
Officials along the Atlantic coast have urged those in Fiona's path to be on high alert and prepare for the impact of the storm, which has already killed at least five people and knocked out power to million as it hit several Caribbean islands this week.
Homes and water infrastructure in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Turks and Caicos Islands were severely damaged, and many residents are still trying to recover.
Puerto Ricans try to return to normal after Hurricane Fiona 2:52
Fiona is on track to become an "extreme weather event" in eastern Canada, threatening about two months of rain, forecasters in Canada said on Friday.
"This could be a historic event for Canada in terms of tropical cyclone intensity," and could even become Canada's version of Superstorm Sandy, said Chris Fogarty, manager of the Canadian Hurricane Center.
Sandy affected 24 states and the entire East Coast in 2012, causing damage estimated at US$78.7 billion.
Fiona became post-tropical before landfall, arriving at the same time as a low-pressure depression and cold air to the north, as did Sandy, according to Bob Robichaud of the Canadian Hurricane Center.
"What these things tend to do is they tend to grow tremendously in size, which is what Fiona is doing as well," he explained Friday.
"Sandy was bigger than expected for Fiona. But the process is essentially the same: two features feed off each other to create a strong storm like the one we'll see overnight."
Hurricane-force winds can extend up to nearly 300 km from the center of Fiona and tropical-storm-force winds up to 555 km, according to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam.
Hurricane Fiona
