Storm knocks out power across Chatham-Kent

Storm knocks out power across Chatham Kent

A brief but powerful storm blew through the region Wednesday leaving numerous damaged trees and downed power lines in its wake.

A brief but powerful storm blew through the region Wednesday leaving numerous damaged trees and downed power lines in its wake.

A large section of tree landed in front of Renne Hamm’s Grand Avenue East home, taking out a power line.

“I heard a loud cracking noise and a bang,” she said. “I looked out and saw the tree … (and) then I looked out again and saw the power line was down and cut in half”

Hamm said there was no damage to the house.

Don Gownlock and his wife were watching the storm blow in when he noticed how much a nearby tree was swaying.

“I no sooner said that and everything turned black … and the tree came down,” he said. “We high-tailed to the base.”

Renne Hamm, right, recalls hearing a loud cracking noise and bang before looking out of the front door of her Grand Avenue East home in Chatham to see a large section of a tree in her front yard, which also took down a power line.  (Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News)
Renne Hamm, right, recalls hearing a loud cracking noise and bang before looking out of the front door of her Grand Avenue East home in Chatham to see a large section of a tree in her front yard, which also took down a power line. (Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News)

Peter Kimbell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said a “thunderstorm complex” developed over Indiana and made its way to Chatham-Kent by the afternoon.

Chatham-Kent’s airport reported winds tasting as much as 74 kilometers per hour, he said, while 12 millimeters of rain also fell during the storm’s brief trip through the Chatham-Kent.

Chatham firefighters were on the scene after a large section of a tree fell across Lorne Avenue in Chatham, taking down a power line when a severe storm quickly blew through on Wednesday afternoon.  PHOTO Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News
Chatham firefighters were on the scene after a large section of a tree fell across Lorne Avenue in Chatham, taking down a power line when a severe storm quickly blew through on Wednesday afternoon. PHOTO Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News jpg, CD

“It didn’t last very long … and the storm basically blew through very rapidly,” Kimbell said

Entegrus reported around 14,000 customers had lost power during the storm, though service was being restored by the early evening.

Crews worked to clear away a section of this tree on King Street in front of the TD Canada Trust bank in Chatham that was blown down during Wednesday's severe thunderstorm.  PHOTO Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News
Crews worked to clear away a section of this tree on King Street in front of the TD Canada Trust bank in Chatham that was blown down during Wednesday’s severe thunderstorm. PHOTO Ellwood Shreve/Chatham Daily News jpg, CD
0602 cd storm1.CD.jpg
0602 cd storm1.CD.jpg jpg, CD

pso1