Thunderstorms cause power outages across Quebec

The thunderstorms that swept through Quebec on Wednesday night caused numerous power outages in the province.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, Hydro-Québec was reporting that more than 19,400 of its customers were without power. Nearly 280 outages across the province.

“The regions most affected are Montreal, Montérégie and Outaouais,” wrote the Hydro on its website.

“We are working to restore power as quickly as possible. We thank you for your patience and understanding.”

There were 5,100 customers affected in the Outaouais – the worst-affected region. Then 4,300 customers affected in the Laurentians and 4,100 in Montérégie.

Montreal was at 2,700 customers in the dark as of 8:30 a.m.

By 10:30 a.m. the number of affected customers in the province was at 15,800. It was down to under 10,000 by 1:30 p.m.

Weather conditions over the past few days have been conducive to the formation of thunderstorms, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees with the high humidity.

The storms also affected Ontario, as Hydro One reported that nearly 8,000 of its customers were without power on Thursday morning.

The hardest-hit regions in Ontario were the central and eastern parts of the province.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews