A thunderstorm that brought high winds and a possible tornado downed trees, flooded streets and destroyed barns in the Ottawa area on Wednesday.

Tornado warnings were issued, but later lifted for Ottawa South, Richmond, Metcalfe, Perth, Cornwall, Morrisburg, Prescott, Russell, Maxville and Alexandria. Winds of up to 110 km/h were reported.

The storm flooded streets in the Barhaven neighbourhood of Ottawa. More than 20,000 people in the nation’s capital lost power.

In Smiths Falls, which is about 77 kilometres southwest of Ottawa, Cassie and Rob Campbell’s two barns were destroyed.

They believe a tornado hit their property. Environment Canada has not confirmed whether any touched down.

Rob Campbell said he was having lunch when his wife told him there was a tornado warning.

“I told her not to worry, they’re just warnings, they never really happen,” he said. “Less than five seconds after I told her that, I got a call (saying), ‘Two of your barns are gone,’ so I finished my sandwich and came home.”

Debris from the barns was scattered on an adjacent field. The cattle were uninjured.

Rebecca McGovern, who lives near the Campbells, said she too believes that a tornado passed through.

Other homeowners in the region are dealing with downed trees. Donna Lafrance of Russell, Ont., came home to find a tree uprooted in her yard and a shed’s mangled tin roof in a field behind her home.

Lafrance had just finished cleaning up from a major storm in July, she said. “I was in total shock,” she added. “I thought maybe I’ll move to Alaska.”

Social media users shared photos and videos of the extreme conditions.

With reports from CTV Ottawa’s Annie Bergeron-Oliver and Leah Larocque