Thousands of residents are currently experiencing power outages on Thursday following a series of severe summer thunderstorms in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. The storms swept through the area throughout Wednesday, culminating in a particularly intense one that struck around 10:30 p.m.
Ann Weatherdon, a local resident near Merivale Road and Meadowlands Drive, described witnessing her chimney being destroyed by a fallen tree during the storm. Travis Hartley, another nearby resident, mentioned the sudden hailstorm that left their deck covered in ice measuring about four to six centimeters.
Environment Canada’s Peter Kimbell reported that the Ottawa International Airport weather station recorded 22 millimetres of rain within 26 minutes on Wednesday night. Additionally, a wind gust of 107 km/h was registered at the station, marking the strongest gust since the May 2022 derecho event.
Although a severe thunderstorm watch was issued earlier in the day, the warning was delayed until after the storm had already started. Kimbell acknowledged the unexpected strength of the winds and the late issuance of the warning.
By 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, approximately 6,100 customers in Ottawa and 5,000 in Gatineau were without power. The affected areas are primarily around Woodroffe Avenue and Merivale Road in Ottawa and the Aylmer region of Gatineau. Hydro Ottawa and Hydro-Québec reported peak outages of over 25,000 and 20,000 customers, respectively, with fewer disruptions reported by Hydro One.
In addition to Wednesday’s storm, another 24 millimetres of rain fell on Monday afternoon and evening at the Ottawa airport. July set a record as Ottawa’s rainiest month, receiving around 282 millimetres of rainfall, with the notable July 1 storm still lingering in the memories of many residents.
The region continues to grapple with the aftermath of the recent storms, with residents working to clean up and restore normalcy amid the power outages and weather challenges.