Massive storms lash Ontario

Powerful Friday night storms lash Ontario cities

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Daniel Martins

Digital Reporter

Saturday, September 6, 2014, 9:04 AM -

[Thumbnail image: Dustin Lawrence, Toronto, Ont.]

Powerful storms fired up across southern Ontario on Friday afternoon, and the show lasted well through the overnight hours.

Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings blanketed the province, at one point covering the City of Toronto, and the last warning didn't drop until just before midnight.

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The province had been baking in humidity making it feel well-past the 30 mark, so when a cold front eased through the province, the storms were the result.





Those storms' strong winds knocked down power lines and cut power to tens of thousands of people across the region. As of 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Hydro One was reporting more than 23,000 customers without power across Ontario.

The Canadian Press reports the storms may have produced at least one tornado.

The Environment Canada says it's looking into a possible twister that touched down north of Orillia Saturday afternoon, possibly produced by a storm on the eastern side of Six Mile Lake.

The storms also brought massive downpours to some parts of the southwest.





Weather Network meteorologist Kelly Sonnenburg said although those amounts seemed high, it wasn't uniform across the province.

While many communities did see a rainy night, and some localized flooding was possible, those hefty totals were due to passing thunderstorms that drenched some areas while sparing others, rather than a general blanket of rain.

Frequent lightning made these storms seem more menacing, with multiple strikes a minute.

The storms turned deadly in the Waterloo area, where an 18-year-old student was struck by lightning at around 9 a.m.

The strike occurred on an outdoor path leading to a residence complex. The student was taken to hospital, where she later died. The university cancelled most events and warned students and staff to stay inside during active weather.

As for Saturday, Sonnenburg says not to expect a repeat. The cold front that triggered the storms has swept the province of Friday's stifling humidity, and a mix of sun and cloud is ahead for the weekend and beyond.

"It's not until Tuesday night that we maybe have a chance of seeing some showers," she said, adding humidity will begin to creep in around mid-week, making it feel like 30 in some communities by Wednesday.

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