Hydro-Québec Outages Left Over 300,000 Customers Without Power After That Wind Storm
Montréal-Trudeau Airport detected a 100 km/h wind gust. 😱
Hydro-Québec outages left over 300,000 customers without power after a wind storm rocked the province. At 10:16 a.m. Sunday, December 12, the Crown corporation reported 2,021 service interruptions affecting 303,782 customers.
Regions north of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers had the most Hydro customers without power. As of the same time Sunday morning, Outaouais had 33,678 customers without electricity, 35,231 were without power in Lanaudière and the Laurentides counted 58,998.
14,122 Hydro customers in Montreal had no power.
Environment Canada had issued a wind warning for much of southern Quebec on Friday. By Saturday morning, the forecast warned of winds reaching 100 km/h.
The weather station at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport detected a 100 km/h wind gust at 8:00 p.m. Saturday night and gusts between 86 and 92 km/h every hour thereafter until 1 a.m. Sunday.
On Twitter, Hydro-Québec asked for patience as it dispatched over 400 employees to inspect service interruptions.
The company said it could not forecast when power will return to some affected zones because it takes time for crews to reach and evaluate points of interruption. Teams are also prioritizing "places with immediate hazards," such as downed wires and fires, and essential public services, such as hospitals, Hydro explained.
The good news for Montrealers is that there are no more storms on the horizon. After a harsh week of snow, wind and freezing rain, Environment Canada forecasts positive daytime temperatures and partially sunny skies for Montrealers from Sunday to Wednesday (with the exception of a cloudy Monday).