Thunderstorm rips through Waterloo Region, taking down trees and knocking out power

No evidence of tornado in storm From CTV Kitchener's Krista Simpson: Tuesday's storm brought downpours and damaging winds, but no evidence of a tornado.

Waterloo — Severe thunderstorms ripped through Waterloo Region Tuesday night, knocking down trees and causing damage throughout the area.

A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for Guelph, Kitchener, Cambridge and the Region of Waterloo, with officials calling off the warning around 6 p.m.

Environment Canada issued the warning around 5:40 p.m. Tuesday as meteorologist tracked a thundestorm capable of producing strong wind gusts and nickel-sized hail.

The storm took down trees throughout the region. It also knocked out power to some 15,000 Kitchener residents, according to a tweet from Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.

On Wednesday morning, KW Hydro was reporting 21 active outages with 531 customers affected. Energy Plus was reporting three active outages and 54 customers affected in the Cambridge area.

Environment Canada also issued a rainfall warning around 3:10 p.m. Tuesday, with meteorologists tracking heavy rainfall and thunderstorms into the evening.

As of Tuesday night, the agency says they do not know of any tornado within the storm, although evidence will be reviewed once it emerges.

The region was first hit with one of five thunderstroms overnight on Monday, which led to the culmination of the weather event around 5:15 p.m, according to Environment Canada.

Rob Kuhn, a severe weather meterologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, says the area got around 16 mm of rain during 10 minutes.

In the last 24 hours, more than 60 mm of rain has fallen onto the region and ended a recent dry spell.

"We've got opportunities for more days like this, I'm quite sure," said Kuhn. "I'll be surprised if we don't get more like this."

He also estimates wind gusts in Kitchener hit about 90 km/h, while the Region of Waterloo airport station measured winds at 118.5 km/h.

"Basically it was like a squall line of strong winds coming in, torrential downpours, visibility dropped very low to almost nil," he said. "When I was watching the storm coming in it looked like the primary form of damage would be from straight line winds, downburst, hitting trees, uprooting them or causing tree limbs to break."

DAMAGE IN KITCHENER

On Glasgow Street in Kitchener, neighbours were out after the storm helping clear tree branches, garbage, and other debris that had been thrown across the road and into buildings.

"It got really dark, I was looking out my patio door, and stuff was flying around in circles everywhere," one resident said. "Then all of a sudden there was a huge crack and I couldn't see anything.

"There was wind and rain flying sideways and then it started to clear a little bit and there was a 60-foot tree in the courtyard."

Chainsaws were out in the Westmount area by early Tuesday evening to help with the clearing and cleanup following the quick burst of intense storm.

"It was quick, it was only five minutes," one resident said. "It was hard and it didn't last long."

While several homes and buildings were damaged, others were lucky, like one resident who was alerted by a neighbour that another 60-foot tree barely missed his home.

"If it had gone the other way, boom right across the house," he said. "Thank God nobody got hurt."

On Victoria Street, the patio at Public House Kitchen and Bar was flattened due to the storm damage.

"Fences were blown over, canopies were ripped off," said co-owner Ryan Murphy. "The guys did what they could but it was all over at that point."

The damage at the bar is estimated to be in the thousands and is set to be closed for the rest of the week.

"It's hard when it's the only avenue to make an income," said Murphy. "We had just opened up the patio, so it's really disappointing for everyone."

The City of Kitchener is advising anyone who sees fallen wires to call 9-1-1. For trees down on streets or sidewalks residents can call the city, while trees down on private property should be dealt with by the property owner.

DAMAGE IN CAMBRIDGE

On William Street in Cambridge, a giant tree fell onto a home around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Nearby residents tell CTV News the darkening skies and extreme winds made them very nervous for what was about to happen.

"I was thinking they were going to fall and the next thing I look over and see this one fell straight down," said Matt Roy. "People thought it was lightning and I said no it wasn't, it was the wind and a big crack, it just came right down."

There is no damage estimate for the tree collapse on William Street as of Wednesday, as other pockets of tree damage have also been reported throughout the Cambridge area.