Severe thunderstorm damages buildings, closes roads in Toronto area

Severe winds tear roof off Brampton building during violent storm

Rain pours through ceiling in Toronto PATH during severe storm

In a related development, video shows buses, trucks, cars under notable water

Video captures severe flooding, fallen trees after key GTA storm

Video shows Toronto traffic during severe GTA storm

Furthermore, severe thunderstorm rushes through downtown Kitchener on Wednesday

Good morning. The Greater Toronto Area is waking up to the aftermath of a powerful thunderstorm that brought torrential rain, hail and destructive winds to southern Ontario on Wednesday evening.

Environment Canada has lifted most weather alerts for the GTA, but the storm's impacts are likely to linger into Thursday as crews work through the night to clear debris, restore power and reopen roads.

Additionally, the Don Valley Parkway has reopened southbound lanes. The northbound lanes are still closed on the parkway from Bayview and Bloor to the Gardiner Expressway.

Toronto police declared the parkway would likely reopen after the morning rush hour.

Environment Canada sent three weather alerts to phones yesterday as the storm progressed. Toronto and Waterloo region residents got separate red alerts for a severe thunderstorm, warning of "golf-ball- to tennis-ball-sized hail."

It is worth noting that parts of southwestern Ontario, including Clinton, Mitchell and Brucefield were under a tornado warning, as the storm at one point moved east at 75 kilometres per hour.

Powerful winds reached up to 100 km/h in some areas, based on to The Weather Network. The forecast hail also pelted certain regions, with one hail core exceeding five centimetres in some parts of the Greater Toronto Area.

Meanwhile, some Toronto watersheds are already seeing prominent flooding, based on to the Toronto and Region Conservational Authority (TRCA), including the Rouge River watershed in Markham, Ont., and the Don River watershed in Toronto. The authority declared its watersheds have already received between three and 97 millimetres of rain, saturating their grounds and limiting their ability to absorb any more rain.

In the broader context, "All rivers, streams, and shorelines should be considered dangerous due to flooding," it mentioned. The TRCA remains under a flood warning until 9 a.m. today.

Parts of the Don Valley Parkway — the highway that winds along the Don River through ravines and forests — were completely flooded with numerous metres of water.

Images showed some people sitting on top of their submerged cars as they waited for help.

Notably, both northbound and southbound lanes are still closed on the parkway from Bayview and Bloor to the Gardiner Expressway.

The Bay, Don Roadway, Eastern, Queen and Dundas on-ramps are also closed.

Police say it's likely the road will reopen after the morning rush hour.

Significantly, hydro One is reminding people to stay at least 10 metres away from any downed power line and to call 911 and contact Hydro One to report it.

The weather could remain unsettled today, with a 60 per cent chance of showers and a risk of a thunderstorm forecast for the London, Ont., region. Winds will become west at 30 km/h, gusting to 50 km/h late this afternoon with a high of 27 C, feeling more like 35 with the humidity.

Environment Canada is advising people to keep monitoring alerts because conditions can change quickly.

Meanwhile, travel will likely be hazardous in some locations, Environment Canada says, warning that visibility could drop suddenly to near-zero at times.

-With files from Travis Dolynny

Cleanup efforts are underway after the storm Wednesday evening caused flooded roads, scattered debris and left thousands without power.

On a related note, toronto police declared it received about 300 calls about downed power lines in the past 24 hours.

Toronto Hydro's outage map showed more than 10,000 customers still without power early Thursday. Crown-owned power supplier, Hydro One, stated more than 58,000 customers remained offline.

Alectra, the electricity utility for the area, mentioned crews were working to restore service to about 363 homes and businesses in Vaughan.

In a related development, a number of leading roads remain closed, including parts of the Don Valley Parkway, the Gardiner Expressway and Bayview Avenue. In Vaughan, Huntington Road is closed indefinitely because of a extensive sinkhole.

Police are warning drivers to avoid flooded or closed roads and downed power lines as crews continue working to clear the damage.

-With files from The Canadian Press

Furthermore, good morning. The Greater Toronto Area is waking up to the aftermath of a powerful thunderstorm that brought torrential rain, hail and destructive winds to southern Ontario on Wednesday evening.

Environment Canada has lifted most weather alerts for the GTA, but the storm's impacts are likely to linger into Thursday as crews work through the night to clear debris, restore power and reopen roads.

If you're just getting up to speed, here's what you need to know about Wednesday's extreme weather and how it's affecting travel and beyond:

Additionally, the City of Vaughan just put out another update, listing general areas of the city to avoid due to the effects of this evening's downpour:

"Crews and first responders will be working throughout the night to address the aftermath of this storm, including downed trees and branches," the city stated.

Another update is likely tomorrow at 10 a.m.

It is worth noting that we have been getting some intense flooding video and photos from Vaughan, directly north of Toronto, where the storm has caused numerous road closures and transit detours.

The City of Vaughan has an alert up on its website notifying residents that crews are working to "clean up as quickly as possible."

York Region has also warned of "severe flooding" in the city.

In the broader context, "Power outages have affected a number of traffic signals and flooding has led to temporary closures," the region stated in a post to X.

There are emergency road closures at Highway 7 and Bowes Road. Numerous stops along York Region Transit's No. 20 bus route are on detour.

You can check the latest transit alerts on the transit agency's X page.