A downed tree blocks part of Russell Street in Sarnia. July 20, 2023. Photo by Melanie Irwin, Blackburn Media. A downed tree blocks part of Russell Street in Sarnia. July 20, 2023. Photo by Melanie Irwin, Blackburn Media.
Chatham

Severe thunderstorm ravages parts of southwestern Ontario

The latest summer storm that rumbled through most of the region Thursday afternoon left behind lots of tangible evidence of its destruction.

Residents were made aware of the storm’s impending arrival late Thursday morning, when a severe thunderstorm watch was issued for most of southern Ontario including Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton, London-Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford counties. Huron-Perth and Grey-Bruce counties.

Thunderstorm watches were later upgraded to warnings by the late afternoon for most of the southwest. Parts of Lambton County, Owen Sound and northern Grey County, and Oxford county were also subject of tornado warnings.

Damage from Thursday’s storm varied in each municipality however, many reported similar destruction from harsh elements including strong wind gusts, leading to downed trees and service interruptions from toppled power lines.

Large hail pellets, ranging from pea-sized to golf ball size and larger were also observed in some areas. Sudden, heavy downpours also caused brief flooding to some sidewalks, roads and parking lots.

Hydro One released a social media statement advising residents that crews will be on patrol most of the evening responding to outages associated with the storm. As of 6:30 p.m., the company's outage map reported dozens of service outages across the area, some impacting as few as several customers, others affecting hundreds, to thousands of residents.

Other hydro agencies issued similar sentiments.

Bluewater Power in Sarnia said workers are responding to multiple outages due to downed trees and wires. Police in Sarnia have advised residents to use caution around all downed hydro lines and treat all intersections without power as four-way stops as clean up continues in the area.

Entegrus workers also responded to several outages in Tilbury, Blenheim, Chatham, and Bothwell.

Meanwhile, Windsor-Essex managed to evade the brunt of the storm, although minor damages were still reported in some areas.

By 6:45 p.m., all severe thunderstorm watches and warnings in southwestern Ontario were lifted.

Municipal officials have asked residents to be patient while workers clear damage and debris caused by the storm stating it will likely to be a slow process.

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