Lightning strikes over Sage Creek in southeast Winnipeg on Thursday, August 3, 2016. (IAN WALSH / SUBMITTED)
WINNIPEG — Manitoba Hydro crews are working to reconnect power to about 2,500 residents across the province after a wild weather night Wednesday.
Power outages were reported throughout the province, brought on by strong winds, hammering rain and loonie-sized hail in some places.
Erickson received the most precipitation at 104 millimetres, followed by Neepawa at 75 millimetres.
Morden saw wind gusts of up to 111 km/h just before 7:30 p.m., while Portage la Prairie peaked at 93 km/h. Wind gusts at the Winnipeg airport were recorded at 74 km/h at 9:45 p.m.
Winnipeg came out relatively untouched, with only 2.7 millimetres of rain reported at The Forks. However, footballs at Investors Group Field had to sit through a lightning delay, with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers game not wrapping up until nearly 1 a.m. The good news? They won 37-11.
— Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 4, 2016
Elsewhere around the province, a funnel cloud was reported 8 km north of Hartney at 5 p.m., and a brief tornado was spotted near Margaret at 5:10 p.m. No damage was reported.
At around 5:20 p.m., a longer-lived tornado was reported 10 km west of Baldur. Environment Canada says it tracked northwards toward Stockton, just west of Glenboro, where a large shed was destroyed shortly after 5:30 p.m.
