Thousands of individuals in southwestern Ontario are still experiencing power outages on Thursday morning following severe thunderstorms and strong winds that passed through the area on Wednesday afternoon. Hydro One has mobilized crews to address the outages, with significant numbers of affected customers in lakeside communities stretching from Grand Bend to Goderich.
The major outages as of early Thursday include approximately 4,500 customers in Grand Bend, a similar number in the Bayfield area, around 3,500 near Goderich, approximately 3,600 in Huron East, roughly 900 close to Ailsa Craig, and about 1,100 near Woodstock. Additional smaller outages have been reported in various parts of the region, with restoration timelines yet to be determined.
London Hydro confirmed no power outages in London as of the early hours of Thursday. For real-time updates on outages, customers can utilize Hydro One’s outage map and related tools, which are refreshed every 10 minutes. Customers can report outages by text, using the outage map or app, or by calling 1-800-434-1235.
Several roads in the region remain closed due to fallen trees and downed hydro lines, according to the West Region OPP. Affected roads include Perth Line 55, Highway 8, Perth Line 44, Hensall Road, Front Road in Clinton, Ontario Street in Clinton, Road 11 in Essex, McTaggart Line in Exeter, Victoria Street in Simcoe, and Highway 21 in Zurich. Motorists are urged to exercise caution and be vigilant for debris and other potential hazards.
Hydro One issued a safety reminder for individuals to maintain a distance of at least 10 meters from any downed power lines and to promptly report them by calling 911 and Hydro One. Users of generators should operate them outdoors and away from openings to prevent carbon monoxide exposure. Environment Canada advises ongoing monitoring of weather alerts as conditions can change rapidly. A yellow fog advisory has been issued for the London region Thursday morning, with potentially hazardous travel conditions and reduced visibility at times.
The weather forecast for Thursday includes cloudy skies with a 60% chance of showers and a risk of thunderstorms. Winds are expected to shift to the west at 30 km/h, gusting to 50 km/h later in the day, with a high of 27°C, feeling warmer at 35°C with humidity.