65,000 Toronto Hydro customers without power after severe wind and hail storm

A severe wind and hail storm that hit Toronto on Wednesday evening, September 2, left approximately 65,000 Toronto Hydro customers without power as crews mobilized across the city to address widespread damage.

Toronto Hydro teams responded to downed power lines and damaged electrical equipment throughout the region. The utility coordinated restoration efforts across multiple zones, with teams assessing storm damage and making emergency repairs to restore service safely and as quickly as possible.

"Given the scale of the storm and the number of outages, restoration efforts may take time and vary by location," Toronto Hydro said in a social media update. "Additional storms are forecast throughout the evening, which may impact restoration efforts."

Police received several reports of wires down and trees fallen in locations across the city. Toronto Hydro urged locals encountering downed power lines to stay at least 10 metres away and to report them to the utility. Emergency services urged drivers to slow down and use caution in affected areas.

The outage represents a significant disruption for a region that has faced multiple major weather events in recent months. Toronto Hydro continued sharing updates via social media and its outage map as restoration work proceeded.