Thousands of outages reported as gusty winds buffet Ontario

Gusty winds brought down trees and power lines across parts of Ontario on Saturday

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses were in the dark heading into Saturday evening after a spell of gusty winds swept through parts of Ontario.

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Hydro One’s website reported at least 30,000 outages as of 6:45 p.m on Saturday. This is an unusually high number of outages given that winds have remained generally 70 km/h or less.

Ontario wind gusts May 23 2026

The strongest wind gust reported so far today measured 72 km/h at the Muskoka Airport, followed by a 69 km/h gust in Sault Ste. Marie. Gusts were generally between 60-70 km/h throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Winds will gradually lessen overnight Saturday and into Sunday as we lose the tight air pressure gradient responsible for the blustery conditions.

Another quick-moving, rainy system is possible in southern Ontario late Sunday evening into Monday morning, though with higher uncertainty. Communities across southwestern Ontario could see isolated non-severe thunderstorms embedded within the larger system.

Comfortable temperatures and drier conditions will arrive for the final days of May.

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