PHOTOS: Intense hail, high winds slam Ottawa and eastern Ontario
Severe thunderstorms hit parts of Ontario and Quebec on Friday, leading to reports of very large hail and wind damage throughout the region
Another round of severe thunderstorms left behind quite the mess across parts of eastern Ontario and southern Quebec on Friday.
High instability and plenty of wind shear over Ontario and Quebec allowed some of the storms to quickly begin rotating, turning into classic supercell thunderstorms that boosted their ability to produce very large hailstones and a risk for tornadoes.
TONIGHT'S FORECAST: Noisy overnight storms threaten southern Ontario into Saturday morning
Hail the size of golf balls and larger slammed the National Capital Region between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. as a powerful thunderstorm rolled over the area. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) warned residents that the storm could produce hail up to the size of baseballs for a time on Friday afternoon.
Ottawa’s hail-producing torrent continued east through the late afternoon and prompted multiple tornado warnings in eastern Ontario, including a report of a funnel cloud near Kenmore, Ontario, around 4:20 p.m. local time.
Tens of thousands of customers across Ontario and Quebec lost power during Friday's storms. Several thousand homes and businesses went into Friday night without power across the Ottawa area, while Hydro Quebec reported around 8:20 p.m. local time that nearly 24,000 of its customers remained without electricity. Quebec's power outages were largely centred around Gatineau, Montreal, and the Laurentides.
Residents across the region captured the chaotic scenes as the storms hit on Friday afternoon. Check out some of the compelling photos and videos of this latest round of severe storms, below.
Thumbnail image courtesy of Scott Findlay near Ottawa, Ontario.
