Environment Canada ended a “wind warning” for the Ottawa region Saturday afternoon.
The warning for Ottawa North, Kanata, Orleans, Ottawa South, Richmond and Metcalfe had said winds arriving as part of a cold front could cause power outages, damage roof shingles and windows, toss around loose objects and break tree branches.
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At least one public event was postponed because of the expectation of high winds. The Mayor’s Christmas Celebration at city hall, scheduled for Saturday afternoon, was delayed until Saturday, Dec. 10.
The wind storm battered parts of southern and Eastern Ontario on Saturday morning and early afternoon.
An online map from Hydro One showed about 270 outages as of late evening, affecting 11,000 customers across the province.
One of the hardest-hit locations was Port Colborne, Ont., on the shores of Lake Erie, where wind speeds reached as high as 100 km/h, said Peter Kimbell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
But the stormy conditions were relatively short-lived, Kimbell said.
In the national capital, Hydro Ottawa posted that there were “several outages across our service territory as a result of the wind. Crews are responding to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.”
As of late afternoon, an online map showed most of those outages appeared to be in the area east of the Ottawa International Airport.
An update just before 10 p.m. showed power had been restored to all but about 40 customers.
Meanwhile, Ottawa Fire Services announced Saturday morning a ban on open fires in the city.
Bans are implemented to prevent the rapid spread of grass and brush fires.
This ban applies to properties that have an open fire permit and to agricultural burns, brush pile burns, campfires and wood-burning outdoor fireplaces, a release from Ottawa Fire Services said.
Devices that don’t require a permit, such as propane, ethanol and natural gas outdoor fireplaces and barbecues, are not included in the ban.
Environment Canada reported that the high temperature on Saturday was 8.6 C at about 2 p.m.
Sunday is predicted to be mainly cloudy with a 30 per cent chance of flurries early this morning, and winds up to 15 km/h. High of 1 C with a wind chill of -12 Sunday morning. UV index 1 or low.
For Sunday night, expect mainly cloudy skies. Wind will become southwest 20 km/h after midnight. The low of -3 C will feel like -9 with the wind chill.
For Monday, the prediction is for clearing in the morning, then increasing cloudiness late in the afternoon. Wind southwest 30 km/h, with a high of 5 C. Unsurprisingly, the UV index will be low.
As for the rest of the week, so far it’s looking like daytime highs between 4 and 5 C through Wednesday, and then dipping below zero and brighter skies for Saturday and Sunday.
jmiller@postmedia.com
with files from The Canadian Press
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