Hydro working restore power knocked out by powerful winds
The severe winds knocked out power to thousands of customers in communities including Winnipeg, St. Malo, West St. Paul and Portage la Prairie on Monday.
Powerful winds blew through southern Manitoba on Sunday and Monday downing trees and power lines, and leaving thousands of Manitobans without power.
“An intense low-pressure system moving through northern Manitoba brought two days of high winds across southern Manitoba,” Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said in a weather update posted on their website.
Strong southerly winds that gusted between 70 and 80 km/h on Sunday gave way to “severe” westerly winds that gusted higher than 90 and even 100 km/h in some areas of the province on Monday, according to ECCC.
The highest winds recorded in southern Manitoba on Monday were in Victoria Beach, where gusts reached 102 kilometres per hour, while wind speeds of more than 90 kilometres per hour were also recorded in Dauphin, (96) Brandon, (95) Somerset, (94) Minnedosa, (94) Berens River, (94) and Austin. (91).
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Gusts also reached more than 80 km/h in more than a dozen other communities, as well as in the city of Winnipeg, where ECCC said wind gusts were recorded at 82 km/h at the James Richardson International Airport on Monday.
Manitoba Hydro said the strong winds left thousands in southern Manitoba without power including approximately 4,500 Hydro customers in Winnipeg, and had Hydro crews working to restore power throughout much of the day in southern Manitoba on Monday, continuing into Tuesday.
“Manitoba Hydro called in more staff yesterday and our crews worked diligently in challenging conditions to safely repair damaged poles and downed lines and restore power as quickly as possible,” a Hydro spokesperson said in a Tuesday email.
“Power has been restored to most of the major outages particularly in the City of Winnipeg and today crews are working through a large number of smaller outages throughout the province.”
The severe winds also knocked out power to thousands of customers in communities including St. Malo, West St. Paul and Portage la Prairie on Monday.
“It’s difficult to estimate when all will be restored, as crews are having to travel distances to reach each one, and can’t be sure of the extent of damage until they arrive. We appreciate Manitobans’ patience and support for our crews as they work hard to address all the outage,” Hydro said Tuesday.
Hydro is also asking Manitobans to be cautious if they see downed power lines, while Hydro continues to clean up from the storm.
“If you see lines down, do not approach. Stay at least 10 metres away and call 911,” Hydro said.
This story was originally published in The Winnipeg Sun. It is republished under a Creative Commons license as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.
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