Winds exceeding 100 kilometres per hour brought down trees and caused power outages in parts of southwestern Ontario on Friday evening as storms swept through the area.
Environment Canada changed its yellow thunderstorm watch for Essex County to an orange severe thunderstorm warning just before 7:30 p. m.
By then, residents were already sharing photos on social media showing large trees uprooted or snapped, backyard gazebos, and children’s play equipment overturned. Others displayed shingles ripped off roofs and branches scattered across roadways.
Windsor Airport recorded gusts of 113 kilometres per hour, according to the weather office reporting to CBC.
The Essex Fun Fest closed for the rest of the day because of severe weather conditions, as announced on its Facebook page.
“Please follow us on social media for any updates in regards to tomorrow,” festival organizers said in the post.
As of 9 p. m. Friday, over 5,000 customers in Essex County were without power, based on Hydro One’s website.
Branches lay on the ground in Walkerville after a storm Friday evening. (Kathleen Saylors/CBC)
More than 600 people lost power in rural Lambton County, and over 1,200 experienced outages in the Cedar Springs area of Chatham-Kent.
Additionally, more than 500 customers were also without power in London, according to London Hydro.
The Windsor Police Service mentioned on social media that they’ve been getting a high volume of 911 calls related to the storm.
They urged people to use the line only for emergencies and to stay on the call without hanging up once they’ve dialed.
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