Strong wind | Tens of thousands of homes without electricity in southern Quebec

“Outages are caused by vegetation coming into contact with the network following winds,” the state-owned company said on its website, indicating its crews were struggling to try to restore power.

The most affected areas are Montérégie, the Laurentians and Montreal, according to Hydro-Québec.

In downtown Montreal, a security perimeter was set up on rue Jeanne-Mance between rue René-Lévesque and rue Sainte-Catherine after strong winds broke a window from a building under construction. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as a result of the incident, according to the Service de police de la Ville de Montreal (SPVM).

According to an afternoon warning issued by Environment Canada, winds are expected to gust from the southwest at 90 kilometers per hour this evening.

“High winds can blow loose material from a surface and break tree branches. High winds can cause power outages and snapping tree branches,” the federal government said.

“Now, the worst is over in the Montreal area. It’s more in the Morrissey and Drummondville area. [au Centre-du-Québec], where they are windy. However, in the evening, they will gradually decrease,” said Georgina Barradas, Environment Canada meteorologist.

Strong winds should continue throughout the day on Thursday before easing in the evening, he said.

Mont-Joli Airport in Pas-Saint-Laurent also experienced gusts of up to 96 km/h.