Thousands left without power in London after windy afternoon rain storm [Video]

Thousands of Londoners were without power Tuesday afternoon, after a brief but destructive thunderstorm rolled through, bringing with it torrential rainfall, lightning and heavy winds.

Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning earlier this afternoon, which was expected to bring winds up to 110 km/h and the possibility of a tornado. Once the thunderstorm passed, the warning ended, and in its wake a special weather statement warned of strong southwest winds with frequent gusts up to 80 kilometres per hour. 

“We’ve been having windy days in the majority of the southwest [region] already 50 gusting 70, those winds are expecting to increase. [Wind] will be the main threat for today,” said Baraba Lapido, an Environment Canada meteorologist.