Thousands affected by storm-related power outages

Thousands are still without power in Winnipeg after high winds and thunderstorms knocked out power lines Sunday.

About 4,000 Manitoba Hydro customers were still dealing with outages this morning after crews worked to restore power in the Westwood and River Heights areas, Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said. On Sunday, Hydro reported outages affecting approximately 6, 700 customers.

The high winds and heavy rain brought down trees and broke power poles, causing “very severe damage,” in River Heights, one of the hardest-hit neighbourhoods, while some of the damage in the Westwood area appeared to be caused by lightning strikes, Chura said.

Thunderstorms rolled in at about 6 p.m. Sunday and brought heavy rain and high winds to some areas of the province. Winnipeg received about 35 mm of rain, while some areas got almost double that. More than 62 mm was recorded at The Forks and 68.8 mm was recorded at Portage Southport, according to Environment Canada.