Thousands without power as storm hammers eastern Ontario for 2nd day | CBC News (2025)

Gabrielle Huston · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 11:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: March 30

The major winter storm thathit Ontario and Quebec Saturday has continued to wreak havoc on Sunday, with tens of thousands of people in eastern Ontariowithout power.

Environment Canada said Friday to prepare for widespread power outages and dangerous travel because of freezing rain that would be hitting communities from Bancroft to Belleville to Brockville.

It's since upgraded some regional warnings and extended them into Sunday.

As of 9 a.m. Sunday, the agency hadfreezing rain warnings in place for the entirety of eastern Ontario.

Along Lake Ontario, Environment Canada warnedof up to 25 millimetres of ice accretion or more in places like Kingston, Belleville and Quinte West, withthe possibility of widespread power outages.

For a swath stretching from theborder of western Quebecto Ottawaand communities to the south— including Perth and Smiths Falls— five to10millimetres of ice accretion is still possible, Environment Canada said.

"The next round of precipitation is actually associated with that Colorado low that's going to be tracking right through almost all of Ontario and Quebec, so it will likely be bringing with it a little bit more precipitation," Environment Canada meteorologistGina ResslersaidSaturday afternoon.

Kingston has declared a significant weather event, putting in its snow plans fortransitandovernight parking. Cornwall and Pembroke have followed suit.

For a benchmark,the infamous 1998 ice stormbrought more thaneight centimetresof ice to Ottawa over multiple days.

Power outages in Lake Ontario communities

Forecasters said Friday it would get slippery outside and tree branches could break as ice builds up, putting utilities like electricity at risk.

Around 3:30 p.m.Sunday,Hydro Ottawa's map showed fewer than 10 customers affected by power outages in the city.

But roughly 80,000customers were experiencing power outages in eastern Ontario around that same time, according toHydro One's outage map,particularly in communities alongLake Ontario like Kingston, Bellevilleand QuinteWest.

Outages are measured in customers, not people, with a large building sometimes considered a single customer.

Hydro One spokesperson Tiziana Baccega Rosa saidoutages across the province are being caused by tree limbs and branchesbeing weighed down by freezing rain and then breaking and fallingonto power lines.

In a news release Sunday, the City of Kingston said that "multiple power lines" were down across the city and that crews were working "around the clock to clear debris and restore power."

Anyone who comes across an unattended downed power line should stay back at least 10 metresand call 911 to report it, the city said.

Organizations such as Emergency Management Ontariohave advice on how to prepare for and manage power outages.CBCLite is a low-bandwidth version of this websitethat can help youstay informed.

Dozens of collisions

Environment Canada and the Ontario Provincial Police recommendpostponing non-essential travel under the freezing rain warnings.

OPP reported on X that its officers hadresponded to about 94 collisions across eastern Ontariobetween midnight and noon on Saturday.

Most of the collisions Saturday morningresulted in "no injuries or minor injuries," OPP wrote.

But they also said that one three-vehicle collision on Highway 138 north of MonklandSaturday morningwas fatal,whileanother three-vehicle collision on Highway 416 nearSpencervillejustbefore midnight Friday resulted in at least seven people sent to hospitalwith injuries.

An OPP spokesperson said there had only been eight collisions reported during the same time period Sunday.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices·