Toronto severe thunderstorm watch cancelled
Toronto still recovering from a storm that brought a record one-day rainfall and severe flooding
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Environment Canada cancelled a severe thunderstorm watch for the Greater Toronto Area on Wednesday evening, saying the risk of damaging storms for the region has now passed.
With the region still recovering from a storm earlier this week that brought a record one-day rainfall and severe flooding damage, the cancellation was welcome news.
The weather advisory covered the Windsor area north to Sarnia and east through Parry Sound-Muskoka, Hamilton, Niagara and the GTA.. Toonie-size hail was reported in the community of St. Marys, northeast of London. The cancellation covers all of those areas.
- Read about the severe weather warning in Hamilton
- See hail pictures from St. Marys and read about Kitchener-Waterloo weather
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said earlier in the day the city was as prepared as it can be for more possible violent weather.
Ford says he was "absolutely" worried about the upcoming storm.
"Who wouldn't be after we just went through this? (But) we're ready for it as best we can and it's all hands on deck," he told reporters Wednesday.
But the storm missed the city, which is still recovering from Monday's downpour.
Ford also said the city is doing all it can to get power restored for people who've been without electricity since Monday night.
Lights on
Toronto Hydro says the lights are now back on for nearly all of the 300,000 customers who lost power during the storm.
But spokeswoman Tanya Bruckmueller is warning that people still need to conserve energy because the power system is running on a temporary "single-contingency, no back-up" situation.
"If we overload, a piece of equipment fails or a raccoon chews on something, we're in the same situation again," Bruckmueller said.
By early evening, only 300 customers were still without power, likely due to trees coming down or lightning, but crews are making repairs.
"We are anticipating early evening but it could go into early night depending on the damage," she said.
The Toronto Transit Commission was able to restore subway service between Jane and Kipling stations by Wednesday afternoon following previous disruptions caused by flooding.
The city has also received about 2,500 calls from residents, mostly in the west end, who are dealing with flooded basements.
General manager of Toronto Water, Lou Di Gironimo told Metro Morning host Matt Galloway that "trying to get our crews out to all those homes is a challenge" as workers battle traffic delays caused by disabled traffic lights.
With files from The Canadian Press