Canada Day thunderstorm rolls through Waterloo Region

Dark storm clouds gathered in the Sportsworld Drive area of Kitchener, Ont. on July 1, 2026. (Shelby Knox/CTV News)

Damaging winds and heavy rain were possible in parts of southern Ontario Wednesday evening.

Environment Canada issued an orange severe thunderstorm warning for a large swath of the province, including The Waterloo Region, Guelph, Stratford and Brant County.

At 5 p.m., the storm was tracking southeast at 90 km/h from Komoka, a community west of London.

Environment Canada warned power outages were possible and the storm could cause significant damage to buildings or trees.

Wind gusts were expected to reach 100 km/h while up to 30 mm of rain could fall before the storm moved on later Wednesday evening.