Severe Storms Leave Many in Southwestern Ontario Powerless

Thousands of residents in southwestern Ontario are still without power Thursday morning after intense thunderstorms and strong winds hit the area on Wednesday afternoon.

Hydro One reports that crews are actively working to restore electricity, with significant outages noted in lakeside towns from Grand Bend to Goderich.

“Currently across the province we have just over 50,000 customers out,” said Hydro One spokesperson Bianca Pizzo. “Outages are being caused by severe winds overnight that caused downed tree limbs and branches onto power lines and in some cases have broken poles.”

Crews are out in full force, said Pizzo, working as safely and quickly as they can to restore power.

As of early Thursday morning, the largest outages in the region included:

About 4,500 customers in the Grand Bend area
About 4,500 in the Bayfield area
About 3,500 near Goderich
About 3,600 in the Huron East area
About 900 near Ailsa Craig
About 1,100 near Woodstock

Smaller outages were also reported elsewhere across the region. Power is expected to be restored by 11 p. m. Thursday.

London Hydro reported no power outages as of early Thursday.

Hydro One’s outage map and other outage tools are updated every 10 minutes. Customers can report an outage by texting 92887 (WATTS), through the company’s outage map or app, or by calling 1-800-434-1235.

A number of roads remain closed

The West Region OPP mentioned several roads remain shut down Thursday morning due to fallen trees and downed hydro lines.

Among the affected roads are:

Perth Line 55 between Highway 23 and Road 166
Highway 8 from Clinton to Road 140
Perth Line 44 from Road 150 to Road 179
Hensall Road from Highway 8 to Hydro Line Road
Front Road in Clinton between Victoria Boulevard and Highway 8
Ontario Street in Clinton between East Street and Smith Street
Road 11 in Essex between Graham Sideroad and County Road 31
Mc Taggart Line in Exeter
Victoria Street in Simcoe at Homewood Avenue
Highway 21 in Zurich between Zurich-Hensall Road and Sararas Road

The police advise drivers to use caution and be on alert for debris and other hazards.

Avoid Downed Lines

Hydro One reminds everyone to stay at least ten meters away from any downed power line and call both emergency services at 911 and Hydro One to report it.

If you’re using a generator, make sure it’s outside and far from windows, doors, or vents so carbon monoxide doesn’t enter your home.

Environment Canada is also urging people to keep an eye on weather alerts since conditions might change rapidly. The agency has issued a yellow fog advisory for London region Thursday morning.

You might encounter hazardous travel conditions at some spots since visibility could drop suddenly at times. Drivers should be ready for areas where visibility is nearly zero and allow extra time for their journeys.

The forecast shows cloudy skies on Thursday with a sixty percent chance of showers along with a risk of thunderstorms. Winds will shift westward at thirty km/h, gusting up to fifty km/h late this afternoon with temperatures reaching twenty-seven degrees Celsius but feeling like thirty-five due to humidity.

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