Thunderstorms crossing part of the province caused a series of power outages and forced the cancellation of shows at the Festival d’été de Québec on Tuesday. In the evening, more than 50,000 homes were still without power.
Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning on Tuesday for part of the Outaouais, the Laurentians, Lanaudière, Mauricie and the Capitale-Nationale region, in particular.
The storm cell did indeed travel through this corridor, confirmed in the evening Marie-Lou Payette, meteorologist for Environment Canada. In Quebec, the arrival of the storm forced the cancellation of certain shows scheduled for the Festival d’été de Québec.
“A major weather system is expected in the next few minutes. Please head calmly to the exits, and take shelter,” the organization said on its Facebook page around 9 p.m. Tuesday evening.
Previously, hail had been reported in Saint-André-Avellin, in Outaouais, according to Marie-Lou Payette. In Sainte-Adèle, in the Laurentians, Internet users have published a photo of funnel clouds that could resemble a tornado.
Environment Canada will have to conduct an investigation before it can determine if there was indeed a tornado, according to Ms.me Payette. No damage had been reported online at the time of this writing.
Power outages, however, swept across the province. At around 12:16 a.m., 50,246 were still without power.
The majority of customers affected come from Outaouais, the Laurentians, the Capitale-Nationale and Lanaudière. Homes are also without electricity in Centre-du-Québec, Mauricie, Montérégie and Montreal.