Toronto is still recovering from Wednesday’s storm, which left 65,000 residents without power at its peak.
Hail, rain and lightning knocked down trees, closed the Don Valley Parkway, damaged Rogers Stadium and shuttered parts of the subway system.
Kirk Morris saw the weather change instantaneously.
“There was golf-sized hail coming down, branches falling. Couldn’t see inches in front of you, and now there’s a full-on river that you could probably raft down to Front Street on,” he said.
The city says it was a 100-year storm, a term that describes a weather event with a one per cent chance of occurring within a year. However, it also noted that climate change is making extreme weather events like Wednesday’s storm more frequent and intense.
The city said that by 2050, climate change will boost the maximum daily rainfall to 166 millimetres from the current 66 mm. Wednesday’s storm brought 100 mm of rain.
“When it comes to climate change, we can’t say whether it caused this specific storm, but we do know Toronto is already experiencing the impacts of a changing climate, with more frequent extreme weather events, including intense storms, heavy rainfall, flooding and extreme heat,” the city said in a statement.
About 90 per cent of customers had their power restored overnight, according to Toronto Hydro, which said crews worked through the night. As of Thursday afternoon, approximately 5,300 people remain without power.
The city says the increase in extreme weather is why it is investing in flood protection and stormwater infrastructure. In April, the city doubled its basement flooding support for property owners.
The Toronto Fire Service fielded about 1,500 calls during the storm, which ranks just behind the number of requests during the 2013 ice storm.
There isn’t an available cost estimate for Wednesday’s storm yet. However, in mid-July 2024 significant rainfall caused flash flooding that triggered power outages and about $1 billion in insured damage in the city and surrounding region. About 1,000 basements flooded in Toronto during the event.
September 3rd 2026
