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Tornado, thunderstorm warnings lifted around Ottawa

Environment Canada has lifted all of its tornado and thunderstorm warnings in eastern Ontario after a major storm system rolled through the region Saturday.

A tornado warning had been in place earlier Saturday evening near the communities of Gananoque, Ont., and Brockville, Ont.

The weather agency said around 6:20 p.m. it was tracking a line of dangerous thunderstorms near the town of Athens, with a potential tornado spotted near Mallorytown.

Those storms were heading southeast at around 40 km/h.

It urged people to go inside if they spotted funnel clouds, swirling or flying debris, or other threatening weather.

By 7 p.m., the warning had been lifted.

Alex Robinson
Alex Robinson

Earlier tornado warning

The weather agency also said it had spotted a major storm late Saturday afternoon near Long Lake, Ont., that was capable of producing a tornado.

The storm also had the potential for damaging winds, toonie-sized hail and intense rainfall, Environment Canada said.

Communities affected by the storm included Long Lake, Echo, and Bedford, as well as Frontenac Provincial Park.

By 6 p.m., the weather agency had cancelled that tornado warning.

@megs6699/Twitter
@megs6699/Twitter

Thunderstorm warning in Ottawa

Ottawa was placed under a thunderstorm warning late Saturday afternoon, but it was lifted shortly before 8 p.m.

The weather agency had said around 5 p.m. it was tracking weather that could produce hail, heavy downpours and wind gusts of up to 100 km/h.

By 8:30 p.m., all of the region's warnings had been downgraded to thunderstorm watches.

Environment Canada warned of large hail that could damage property and cause injuries, and that strong wind gusts could move loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles.

The agency also warned boaters Saturday about strong gusts on waterways.

The storm left thousands of Hydro Ottawa customers without power, particularly in the westernmost parts of the city, but the majority had regained power by 8:30 p.m.

The Ottawa airport also temporarily grounded flights due to the presence of lightning in the area.

Flights began to resume shortly after 8 p.m.