EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous featured image attached to this article was found to be inauthentic, the image has since been removed.
The Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) is dispatching a damage survey team on Thursday, following a large storm system that swept through southern Ontario late Wednesday afternoon.
The group from Western University reported that the most significant damage occurred between Bayfield and Cambridge, including one barn that was destroyed.
“It seems that the damage is mainly due to straight-line winds, but it’s possible there were one or two tornadoes involved,” said NTP officials.
“Keep in mind there are some images circulating online claiming to show observed tornadoes in Guelph and Paris, but we think these might be AI fakes. These have become more common during storm events.”
A photo shared by Grand Bridge Energy on X, which was initially included in this article, appeared to depict a tornado, but its authenticity was challenged.
“The photo wasn’t taken by Grand Bridge Energy. It came from social media and was shared with other images of storm damage after last night’s major weather event,” stated a spokesperson from Grand Bridge to City News Kitchener. “We share these types of images to help illustrate the extent of the damage and the scale of the restoration effort.”
Grand Bridge noted concerns about whether the image may have been generated by AI and because they couldn’t confirm its authenticity, it has now been removed from their social media channels.
Around 5 o’clock Wednesday evening, numerous weather alerts went off on phones throughout Waterloo Region and beyond warning about damaging winds, severe thunderstorms, and the chance for a tornado developing.
The Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) informed City News Kitchener that between 5:30 p. m. and 9:30 p. m., they received 64 calls concerning dangerous conditions caused by the storm. This included reports of fallen trees, downed power lines, and outages at traffic lights.
The highest level of tornado and thunderstorm warnings were issued during this period with a red-level alert.
“This is a very dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation,” read the alert. “Destructive winds, damaging hail, and heavy rainfall are all possible.”
Grand Bridge Energy serving areas around Cambridge and Brantford reported around 12,000 customers without power at approximately 8:00 p. m.
As of around 2:35 a. m. Thursday morning, crews were still working on restoring power in parts of Ayr and throughout North Dumfries. Power was fully restored by 6:00 a. m.
Photo shared by Grand Bridge Energy on X
Enova Power Corp. indicated over 17,000 customers were without electricity just after 7:00 p. m. Wednesday evening. By Thursday morning at 6:00 a. m., fewer than 100 customers remained without power.
“Unfortunately, extensive damage caused by trees & branches on power lines means some customers will remain without power overnight,” said Enova officials. “Crews will keep working through the night.”
We appreciate your patience while crews work to restore service to over 17,000 customers affected by outages due to high winds during this evening’s storm. Many trees and lines are down throughout our area. Stay safe: Keep 10 meters back from downed power lines as they could be live. pic. twitter. com/09tn Ldy ORf
– Enova Power Corp. (@enovapower) September 2, 2026
Kitchener forestry crews were also active after the storm hit with more than 60 calls regarding fallen trees and debris across the city.
City officials mentioned they would prioritize clearing roadways before attending to sidewalks and less urgent areas by Thursday morning.
No services or city programs are expected to be impacted by storm clean-up efforts on Thursday.
In Waterloo, city officials stated that clearing debris could take several days as well.
In Toronto, severe weather led to heavy rainfalls along with large hailstones making tornado risks higher too. Videos shared on social media displayed large hail falling along with flooding inundating vehicles and bus stations as people sought shelter quickly.
This storm resulted in flight delays along with cancellations at Toronto’s Pearson airport while also causing significant damages at Rogers Stadium-a music venue holding up to 50,000 people located in north Toronto.
The Northern Tornadoes Project is also looking into damages occurring in North York area along with Orr Lake near Barrie as well.
The journey through Perth County as well as Huron County remained tricky early Thursday morning with OPP West Region announcing several road closures still active as of 5:45 a. m., due mainly to debris along roadsides plus downed hydro lines created from fierce storms moving through earlier
UPDATE (Sept 3 – 5:45 a. m.): Several roads remain closed due to fallen trees and downed hydro lines caused by severe weather conditions.
Some affected roads include:
➡️Perth Line 55 between Highway 23 and Road166
➡️Highway8from Clintonto Road140
➡️Perth Line44… pic. twitter. com/PBiset Po A8– OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) September3 ,2026 Keep it Factual Add City News Kitchener as a trusted source on Googleto see more local storiesfrom us.
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Photo shared by Grand Bridge Energy on X
Enova Power Corp. indicated over 17,000 customers were without electricity just after 7:00 p. m. Wednesday evening. By Thursday morning at 6:00 a. m., fewer than 100 customers remained without power.
“Unfortunately, extensive damage caused by trees & branches on power lines means some customers will remain without power overnight,” said Enova officials. “Crews will keep working through the night.”
We appreciate your patience while crews work to restore service to over 17,000 customers affected by outages due to high winds during this evening’s storm. Many trees and lines are down throughout our area. Stay safe: Keep 10 meters back from downed power lines as they could be live. pic. twitter. com/09tn Ldy ORf
– Enova Power Corp. (@enovapower) September 2, 2026
Kitchener forestry crews were also active after the storm hit with more than 60 calls regarding fallen trees and debris across the city.
City officials mentioned they would prioritize clearing roadways before attending to sidewalks and less urgent areas by Thursday morning.
No services or city programs are expected to be impacted by storm clean-up efforts on Thursday.
In Waterloo, city officials stated that clearing debris could take several days as well.
In Toronto, severe weather led to heavy rainfalls along with large hailstones making tornado risks higher too. Videos shared on social media displayed large hail falling along with flooding inundating vehicles and bus stations as people sought shelter quickly.
This storm resulted in flight delays along with cancellations at Toronto’s Pearson airport while also causing significant damages at Rogers Stadium-a music venue holding up to 50,000 people located in north Toronto.
The Northern Tornadoes Project is also looking into damages occurring in North York area along with Orr Lake near Barrie as well.
The journey through Perth County as well as Huron County remained tricky early Thursday morning with OPP West Region announcing several road closures still active as of 5:45 a. m., due mainly to debris along roadsides plus downed hydro lines created from fierce storms moving through earlier
UPDATE (Sept 3 – 5:45 a. m.): Several roads remain closed due to fallen trees and downed hydro lines caused by severe weather conditions.Some affected roads include:
➡️Perth Line 55 between Highway 23 and Road166
➡️Highway8from Clintonto Road140
➡️Perth Line44… pic. twitter. com/PBiset Po A8– OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) September3 ,2026 Keep it Factual Add City News Kitchener as a trusted source on Googleto see more local storiesfrom us.
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