Ottawa storm winds reached 190 km/h: researchers
Winds in the destructive storm that hit Ottawa and the region on Saturday reached 190 kilometres per hour in some areas, researchers say, but a tornado did not touch down.
"Analysis of the data reveals that a particularly intense downburst, not a tornado, was responsible for the damage" in south Ottawa, the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University said on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Maximum wind speeds reached 190 kilometres per hour, the researchers said. They measured the storm, known as a 'derecho,' as as EF-2. The EF-scale measures the intensity of wind damage on a scale from 0 to 5.
Local officials are scheduled to provide an update on recovery efforts at 4 p.m. Wednesday. You can watch it live on this page.
Overnight and through the morning Wednesday, Hydro Ottawa crews reconnected 15,000 more customers with the power grid, leaving 55,000 still without power as of 1 p.m.
Electricity has been restored for about 125,000 customers.
"Some of those larger pole lines that you see on Woodroffe, on Merivale, we're hitting those hard today," Joseph Muglia, Hydro Ottawa's director of system operations, told CTV Morning Live. "Once we can get those pole lines back up, we'll see large numbers of customers brought on at once."
Muglia said additional hydro crews are arriving from Toronto on Wednesday to help.
"We’re still aiming for the end of this week to have the bulk of the customers online and back with power," he said. "That’s still the trajectory and that’s what we’re aiming for."
Hydro Ottawa has taken its outage map offline, saying it doesn't reflect the current situation due to the complexity of the overlapping outages.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson said Wednesday that Ontario Premier Doug Ford assured him the province would cover the cost of the storm cleanup, which is expected to run into the millions of dollars.
Hydro One was reporting more than 29,000 customers in eastern Ontario still without power Wednesday morning, down from 49,000 Tuesday afternoon. Hydro Quebec said there were still 15,500 customers in the Outaouais region to be connected, down from 21,000 on Tuesday.
About 40 roads are still impassable due to downed trees and hydro lines, Public Works General Manager Alain Gonthier told reporters Tuesday afternoon. Residents are still being asked to stay off the roads if they can.
Some city respite centres are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. again Wednesday for people who need electricity, water, food and shelter. You can see a full list here. There are also disposal bins set up at several locations for spoiled food, and the city is conducting a green bin blitz to collect food waste.
Many city services were closed on Tuesday but reopened on Wednesday.
English public and Catholic schools in Ottawa that have power are reopening Wednesday. There are more than 60 schools in the city that still don't have power and they will remain closed.
Two schools were damaged by the storm and will be closed for an extended period of time. French boards plan to open schools that have power.
At least 10 people across Ontario and Quebec were killed in the storm, including three in the Ottawa area.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial has fined him US$1,000 for violating his gag order and sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
When grief and AI collide: These people are communicating with the dead
AI tools can offer recommendations, answer questions and 'talk' with users. But some users are using them to recreate the likeness of the dead.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
WestJet, mechanics union agree to tentative deal to avoid strike
A potential strike between WestJet and its mechanics union appears to have been avoided.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.