wind in toronto

Heavy winds are seriously messing up Toronto right now

If April showers bring May flowers, what do April hail storms bring? 

Broken windows and spinning cranes.

A wind warning remains in effect for Toronto on Wednesday afternoon, with scattered flurries and "very strong" gusts of arctic air moving through the city at up to 90 km/h.

If you haven't been outside in a while, you might want to consider keeping it that way.

Damaged windows, roofs, signs, vehicles, street furniture, dogs, trees and even cranes are being reported all over the city this afternoon, pieces of debris from which are flying everywhere.

"Loose objects may be tossed by the wind and cause injury or damage," warns Environment Canada. "Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions due to high winds."

Power outages are currently impacting roughly 10,000 people across many parts of the city thanks to downed wires, according to Toronto Hydro.

"Crews are responding as quickly & safely as possible, but are not able to provide ETORs at this point," wrote the utility provider on Twitter. "Stay safe!"

As of 2 p.m., Toronto Fire Services said crews were responding to 26 active incidents caused by the heavy winds.

Citizens on the ground are seeing their fences trashed, their roads closed off and so many rogue recycling bins in places where they shouldn't be.

In Hamilton, a giant bucket of fried chicken crushed a cab in a KFC parking lot. No injuries were reported.

People all over the GTA are questioning the structural integrity of the buildings they're in, as well the infrastructure supporting them.

Environment Canada says that these winds will "gradually begin to diminish this evening," but does warn of ongoing power outages, so... juice up your phone right now, if you can, just in case.

Lead photo by

Steve Welton


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