Wild winds knocked out power to more than 20,000 Hamilton homes

The worst is over for Hamilton after fierce winds ripped through the area Wednesday, causing power outages for more than 20,000 residents and peeling a roof off a downtown building.

A handful of Hydro One customers in the Glanbrook, Flamborough and Jerseyville areas remained without power Thursday morning after it had been knocked out at more than 8,000 homes, but power was expected to be restored mid-afternoon, said spokesperson Tiziana Baccega Rosa.

Alectra Utilities restored power by 10 p.m. Wednesday after 13,759 Hamilton homes went dark during the storm — the highest number of affected customers in their service area, said media spokesperson Rachel Bertone. Alectra provides power in many communities throughout the GTA.

While local winds are not expected to pick up to the same level as Wednesday — when Hamilton’s highest gust measured at 98 kilometres per hour — we’re in for more blustery weather today

Winds as high as 60 km/h are expected along with some snow, said Etienne Gregoire, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.

“It’s going to be another gusty day tomorrow,” he said on Thursday.

This type of weather is not unusual for April when storms can get “intense” and “complex,” he said.

“It’s happened before and it’s going to happen again,” Gregoire added.

Hamilton police said they were kept busy Wednesday responding to numerous traffic light failures due to power outages all over the city.

In addition to fallen trees, sliced off branches and a toppled over giant KFC bucket, Wednesday’s winds also almost knocked a roof of a building on the corner of James Street North and Cannon Street. The city’s building inspector, who met with the owner’s insurance adjuster for 153 James St. N. Thursday morning, determined the structure appears to be uncompromised at this time.

They have hired a professional engineer to help determine if the owner should get a permit for repairs or whether the building needs to be demolished, said city spokesperson Marie Fitzpatrick.