Power being restored after over 75,000 Hydro-Quebec clients left in the dark during storm

People use umbrellas as it rains in Montreal. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

At the peak of the storm that began Friday night and swept across southwest Quebec, around 75,000 residents were left without power.

By 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, over 55,000 Hydro-Quebec clients remained without power, and by 2 p.m., that number was just over 30,000.

Montreal was hit with heavy rain, lightning and some hail on Friday night, causing various events to be cancelled or postponed.

At the height of the storm, Hydro-Quebec reported around 75,000 outages.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) meteorologist Frederick Boulay said there were many reports of pea-sized hail in the Montreal, Laval and Laurentians regions.

The strongest recorded gust of wind reported was 96 km/h at the Montreal Metropolitan Airport (formerly St. Hubert Airport) on the South Shore.

The strongest reported at the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport was 78 km/h.

Boulay said there were reports of broken branches and trees down, but mostly in the Laurentians and Outaouais regions.

In downtown Montreal, 37 millimetres of rain fell, with the highest total recorded in Terrebonne, where 47 mm fell.

More to come.