Power cut to over 250,000 Hydro-Quebec clients after windstorm

Hydro-Quebec has hundreds of teams on the job Thursday morning, addressing nearly 1000 breaks in the system affecting over 158,000 clients. That number is down from over 250,000 at the height of the storm Wednesday evening. Temperatures have crashed Thursday morning, down to -12C (10F) in Montreal. (Hydro-Quebec Photo)

A powerful weather system crossed Ontario and Quebec on Wednesday producing thunderstorms, hail, fierce winds, record highs, followed by snow and an incredible temperature drop. Hundreds of record highs were established across eastern North America. Severe weather occurred with rare February tornadoes in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, along with thunderstorms in Ontario and Quebec.

Winds along and behind the arctic boundary gusted to over 100km/h in the Montreal region, including 102km/h at St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and 92km/h at Trudeau Airport. The result was widespread power outages across the province as branches came in contact with wires and transformers. Poles were even snapped by the strong winds on the South Shore. At the height of the storm, over 250,000 customers were without power, that number has since dropped to 158,598 at of 8:45AM Thursday morning.

Hydro-Quebec has over 500 personal on the job, but there are over 1000 individual line breaks that need service. Adding to the difficult work are the high winds that are still gusting over 60km/h across the region.

Wednesday was a wild day, with sudden temperature drops, thunderstorms and a rapid freeze. The temperature in Montreal reached a record-breaking 13.8C (56F) at Trudeau Airport, smashing the previous record of 8.3C (48F) set back 1902 and again in 1954. Ottawa recorded their warmest February temperature on record at 15.7C (60F). Scattered thunderstorms were observed in the St. Lawrence Valley from upstate New York into Ontario and Quebec, producing high winds and heavy rain. Montreal measured 7.4mm of rain followed by less than 1cm of snow.

As the arctic boundary moved across the island of Montreal at 6pm, temperatures crashed, dropping 21.6 degrees in just 6 hours at Trudeau Airport. The drop was even greater in other locations. Sudbury, Ontario dropped from plus 5C (41F) to -10C (14F) is just one hour, while Rouyn-Noranda fell 27.2 degrees in 6 hours.

Thursday will be windy and bitterly cold, with highs struggling to reach -6C along with strong winds up to 60km/h resulting in wind chill values in the minus teens and 20s. The cold snap will be short-lived, with a high of 0C (32F) Friday followed by a cloudy mild weekend with highs well-above freezing.