Thousands without power as freezing rain, thunderstorms hit Ontario and Quebec
Posted Apr 4, 2023 08:33:18 AM.
Last Updated Apr 5, 2023 09:35:37 PM.
About 800,000 people in Ontario and Quebec were without power Wednesday after a messy mix of freezing rain, and thunderstorms pummeled parts of both provinces.
Hydro One said crews were still responding to outages in Ontario as quickly and safely as possible, but severe weather was slowing the response. An outage map showed more than 120,000 customers in the province without power by late afternoon.
“Our crews are restoring power to over 120,000 customers after high winds and severe thunderstorms have caused significant damage,” the utility said in an afternoon statement.
Environment Canada called for prolonged periods of freezing rain with ice storm conditions continuing into the evening, which prompted school bus cancellations earlier in the morning in Ottawa. The agency forecasted between 30 millimetres and 50 millimetres of rain for the region.
Hey Ottawa, we know it’s been a tough day without power.
The situation continues to fluctuate as a result of bad road conditions, ice build up and downed trees and power lines. Crews will be working 24/7, and the safety of our workers & the public remain our top priority. pic.twitter.com/R4JbCnICXx
— Hydro Ottawa (@hydroottawa) April 5, 2023
Hydro Ottawa’s Joseph Muglia said any insight from residents about power outages is always helpful. “We know the size of the outage, there could be customers just on the outside of an existing outage, and we are not aware of them yet,” said Muglia.
Quebec’s power utility said shortly after 5 p.m. that more than 676,000 of its 4.5 million customers had no power, with much of the province under a freezing rain warning.
In western Quebec, about 120,000 of the utility’s nearly 227,000 customers were without power.
“What’s causing the outages is the mixture of precipitation and wind,” Hydro-Quebec spokeswoman Gabrielle Leblanc said. “It weighs down the vegetation; there can be branches and trees that fall on the lines.”
Leblanc said hydro crews were working overtime, but he said many of the outages are small, affecting only a few customers and making it more difficult to reconnect large numbers of people.
“Crews that were scheduled to finish at 5 p.m. will stay until 11 p.m. to get as much done as possible,” Leblanc said.
