Over 130,000 still without power in southern Ontario after windstorm downs trees, hydro lines in Hamilton
Hydro One continues to report mulitple power outages across Southern Ontario including areas on Hamilton Moutain and south to Port Dover.
The Hamilton Wentworth District School Board has closed Mount Hope Elementary School today due to a power outage.
Crews from Hydro One are working to restore power to over 130,000 affected customers across southern Ontario Monday, with estimated time of restoration at 4 p.m.
Hamilton Conservation Authority has tweeted an alert that trail users be aware of downed trees and branches. HCA remains open and staff are working on storm clean up on Monday, visitors are asked to use caution.
Power is restored Monday morning for the more than 27,500 Alectra Utilities customers who lost power around 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
The outage spanned the city, from Winona in the east to Dundas and Ancaster in the west. Halton police also tweeted that they responded to more than 30 calls of downed trees and hydro outrages in that region.
Alectra said the outages were related to the wind storm that blew through Southern Ontario on Sunday. By 3:30 a.m. all power was restored and there are no power outages reported Monday morning.
A tree on Parkdale Avenue was uprooted and cars were reportedly shaking in the wind.
City of Hamilton crews responded to damage across the city.
By late afternoon on Sunday, forestry crews had received about 50 calls for tree issues" according to a news release and were prioritizing calls based on public safety.
Environment Canada put out a series of weather statements over the weekend about a low pressure system heading north east across Ontario. The statements progressed into weather warnings. The service forecast dangerous gusts of up to 110 km/h in some areas. The warnings ended around 5 a.m. Monday.
In Port Dover, reports of water covering roads up to Main Street were being reported Sunday evening.
Norfolk County is reporting a number of road closures Monday morning because of downed trees, hydro wires and debris. In a tweet, the county said the closed roads include Main Street, Walker Street and Harbour Street in Port Dover, Turkey Point Road south of Charlotteville Road One, and Hastings Drive. Norfolk, Haldimand and Niagara Region along the Lake Erie shoreline were expected to be the areas most significantly affected by the storm. Flood and high lake level warnings were in effect in Haldimand County.
Residents snug up against the Lake Erie shoreline feared flooding as eight-metre waves were predicted.
Individuals currently staying at properties along the lake are encouraged to leave and return to their permanent residences," Haldimand County said in a news release. Permanent residents should shelter in place until otherwise directed by emergency officials, unless at any time they feel their safety is in jeopardy, in which case they should leave immediately."
Haldimand county was preparing for evacuations if they were deemed necessary."
Weather models from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry were forecasting a surge of 2.98 metres in the eastern part of Lake Erie. The peak was expected between 6-8 p.m.