Downed trees and hydro outages reported as storm blows through southern Ontario

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Tree damage in Waterloo Region and Perth East following Thursday's storm

Downed trees and hydro outages reported as storm blows through southern Ontario

People are cleaning up after a line of powerful storms swept through southwestern Ontario.

On Thursday afternoon, Environment Canada warned of potentially damaging storms moving through the area.

By Thursday evening, ominously dark clouds dimmed the skies, and hydro crews were kept busy responding to a series of power outages in Waterloo Region and Brant County.

Meanwhile, people west of Waterloo Region were reporting damage.

Anne Harper, who lives northeast of Mitchell in the Kinkora and Wartburg area, said she had gone into her basement when the storm kicked up. When she came back upstairs, debris was scattered across her property.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” she said. “There’s at least one or two trees down for every quarter mile. It was clearly intense.”

At 9:59 p.m., a social media post from the Ontario Provincial Police said Highway 23 in Mitchell was fully closed between Line 29 and Line 32 due to a large number of downed hydro poles. They warned drivers to expect a ‘lengthy closure.’

Environment Canada said the storm is expected to continue overnight and into the early morning.