Power restored in Ottawa after strong winds cause widespread outages

Tens of thousands of people in Ottawa lost power Tuesday when a cold front brought wind gusts and icy conditions. CTV’s Tyler Fleming reports.

Thousands of people were without power in Ottawa and classes were cancelled at Algonquin College today, as strong winds and cold temperatures gripped the national capital region.

Environment Canada had issued a special weather statement for Ottawa, calling for winds gusting to 70 km/h and “brief periods of reduced visibility due to lake effect flurries and blowing snow.”

It ended Tuesday afternoon.

CTV News Ottawa looks at what you need to know about the power outages and the storm.

8 p.m.

This concludes our live coverage of today’s windstorm and winter weather.

Power returned for nearly all Hydro Ottawa customers after the wind caused widespread outages and disruptions across the city this morning and afternoon.

Hydro One reported about 3,600 customers were still without power in eastern Ontario.

There were less than 1,700 addresses without power in the Outaouais, according to Hydro Quebec.

Environment Canada recorded a temperature of -10 C at the Ottawa airport with a wind speed of 18 km/h and gusts of up to 40 km/h at 8 p.m.

7 p.m. - Hydro update

Hydro Ottawa said there were fewer than 1,000 customers without power and five active outages across the city.

There were about 800 customers still without power in the Civic Hospital neighbourhood.

Hydro One reported just over 4,000 customers without power in eastern Ontario.

Hydro Quebec reported approximately 1,800 addresses without power in the Outaouais.

5:45 p.m. - Hydro update

Hydro Ottawa said there was fewer than 2,000 customers without power in the city.

The largest outage was in the Civic Hospital neighbourhood, where just over 1,300 customers were off the grid.

Hydro One was reporting 4,400 customers without power in eastern Ontario. Hydro Quebec was tracking 2,800 addresses out in the Outaouais.

5 p.m. - Hydro update

As of 5 p.m., Hydro Ottawa was reporting 3,666 customers without power, most of whom are in the Carlington neighbourhood.

Hydro One was reporting approximately 5,300 customers without power in eastern Ontario, including 462 in Navan

Hydro Quebec said there were 5,488 addresses in the Outaouais region without power, including 2,300 in the Pontiac region.

4:05 p.m. - Power restored at Civic Campus

The Ottawa Hospital confirmed in a statement to CTV News Ottawa that power was briefly lost at the Civic campus Tuesday afternoon, but has since been restored.

“Teams were able to follow all normal procedures, and there was no impact to patient care,” a spokesperson said.

NOTE: A statement previously said the Riverside campus had also briefly lost power, but that was incorrect.

3:30 p.m. - Special weather statement ends

The special weather statement that was in effect for Ottawa has ended.

Wind speeds of 29 km/h with gusts of up to 43 km/h were recorded at the Ottawa airport at 3 p.m. The temperature was -11 C with a wind chill of -21.

The forecast calls for a 30 per cent chance of flurries early this evening and a low of -17 C.

3:25 p.m. - New power outage affects 4,600

Hydro Ottawa reported a new power outage in the Carlington area affecting more than 4,600 customers.

According to its outage map, the outage began at 2:49 p.m. Fisher Heights, Central Park, and areas around the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus were also included in the outage, according to the outage map.

Hydro Ottawa says its crews are making steady progress on restoration efforts.

2:30 p.m. - Hydro update

As of 2:30 p.m., Hydro Ottawa is reporting 1,765 customers without power across Ottawa. More than 900 customers remain without power in the Rideau Glen, Ashdale, Pineglen and Country Place neighbourhoods.

Hydro Quebec is reporting 6,413 customers without power in the Outaouais area. A total of 2,647 customers are without power in the Pontiac, and 1,680 customers are in the dark in Papineau and the Outaouais Hills.

According to the Hydro One outage map, 12,900 customers remain without power in eastern Ontario.

1:10 p.m. - Hydro Ottawa update

Approximately 3,500 customers remain without power in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon, down from 20,000 customers this morning.

Hydro Ottawa says there are 30 active outages.

The largest outage appears to be in the Rideau Glen, Ashdale, Pineglen and Country Place neighbourhoods, with 989 customers without power.

Hydro Ottawa CEO Bryce Conrad has said all customers should have power back today.

12:40 p.m. – Special weather statement

Environment Canada’s special weather statement remains in effect Tuesday afternoon, with wind gusts up to 70 km/h.

“Very strong southwesterly winds with gusts approaching 70 km/h are likely, particularly close to Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River,” the weather agency said.

“These strong winds will result in areas of blowing snow giving reduced visibility.”

The forecast calls for wind gusts of 30 km/h to 50 km/h this afternoon, before dropping to 15 km/h tonight.

12:25 p.m. - 10,000 customers without power in western Quebec

Hydro Quebec is reporting 10,458 customers are without power in the Outaouais area of western Quebec.

The outages include 4,419 customers in Papineau and 2,282 customers without power in the Outaouais Hills (L’Ange-Gardien, Chelsea, Val-des-Monts and Pontiac).

12:20 p.m. - 5,800 customers without power

Hydro Ottawa is reporting 46 active outages at 12:20 p.m., with 5,831 customers without power.

Approximately 900 customers are without power in the Country Place, Ashdale and Merivale Gardens area.

11:15 a.m. - Hydro Ottawa update

Hydro Ottawa is reporting 7,029 customers remain without power as of 11:15 a.m.

There are currently 57 active outages across the city, including in Stittsville, Kanata and the Glebe/Billings Bridge area.

“Our crews are working as safely and quickly as possible to restore power to customers across the city,” Hydro Ottawa said in a social media post.

“We appreciate your patience as this work continues.”

11 a.m. - Algonquin College cancels classes

In a letter to students and staff, Algonquin College President Claude Brulé said all classes at the Ottawa, Pembroke, and Perth campuses are cancelled Tuesday because of power and internet disruptions.

Classes are expected to resume on Wednesday.

Brulé said employees who are not involved in maintaining essential operations should plan to work from home on Tuesday.

10:35 – Eastern Ontario outages

The Hydro One outage map shows approximately 27,000 customers without power across eastern Ontario.

The outages stretch from Kingston to Cornwall and Hawkesbury to the Ottawa Valley.

The outages include 2,800 customers without power in the Casselman, Russell, Mayerville and Metcalfe area.

10:10 a.m. - O-Train service resumes

O-Train Line 1 service has been restored along the full corridor, after a stopped train disrupted service in Ottawa’s east end at the end of the morning commute.

An OC Transpo spokesperson tells CTV News Ottawa at a train became immobilized west of Blair Station due to a “mechanical issue with the train” at 9:05 a.m.

There was no O-Train service between St. Laurent and Blair Stations, with R1 bus service launched in the area.

At 10:04 a.m., OC Transpo reported regular service had resumed.

“OC Transpo is working with Rideau Transit Maintenance to investigate the cause and we thank customers for their patience,” the transit service said in a statement.

10:05 a.m. - Outages across Ottawa

Hydro Ottawa reported 60 outages across the city, with approximately 20,000 customers without power Tuesday morning.

Hydro Ottawa CEO Bryce Conrad says the outages are “pretty widespread.”

“Any outages over 350 customers have a got a crew assigned to it so we should be able to knock them back pretty quickly,” Conrad told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll.

“The problem is when you get these winds, obviously (crews) can’t be up in their bucket trucks when there are wind gusts of 75-85 km/h, so that might delay us a bit.”

Conrad said there were wires down across the city.

“It’s weather. What was the temperature yesterday? 15 degrees and then it was pouring rain all night and then it switched to snow,” Conrad said, adding the quick freeze “is never good.”

“It’s just trees coming down, branches coming down on wires. It’s nothing that we haven’t dealt with before and we’ll get through this today as well.”

Conrad expects all power outages to be restored today.

9:55 a.m. - Queensway-Carleton Hospital

The Queensway-Carleton Hospital says it experienced a power outage at 7 a.m., and “immediately moved to back-up power.”

“Most services remained opened and fully functioning, but unfortunately some surgeries had a late start and DI appointments needed to be delayed or rescheduled,” a hospital spokesperson told CTV News Ottawa.

At 9:30 a.m., the hospital told CTV News Ottawa it was in the process of moving back to the main power sully and “are in the process of returning to normal operations.

9:50 a.m. – O-Train out of service in east end

The O-Train was not running between St. Laurent and Blair stations due to a stopped train.

9 a.m. – Hydro outages

Hydro Ottawa is reporting several outages across Ottawa.

More than 1,600 customers are without power in the Bells Corners area, with the outage stretching to the area around the Queensway-Carleton Hospital, and 10,000 customers in the Kanata/Stittsville area are without power.

“Due to the heavy winds, we are experiencing multiple outages across our service territory. Crews have been deployed to assess damage and restore power where it is safe to do so,” Hydro Ottawa said on its website.

“If customers see a downed power line, they are urged to call 911 immediately. Always stay at least 10 meters (33 feet) away from downed power lines and from any objects that the lines are in contact with. Anything that is in contact with a downed line, such as trees, vehicles, or fences, can also be electrified.”

The Ottawa Humane Society says its building on West Hunt Club Road is without power, and all OHS public programs are cancelled.

Approximately 1,600 customers are without power in the Queensway-Terrace North neighbourhood in west Ottawa and 1,800 customers are without power in parts of Orleans.

Hydro One is reporting outages from Kingston to Cornwall and into the Ottawa Valley.

There is no word on when power will be restored.

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App