A significant freezing rainstorm spread across the region on Wednesday, March 11. The ice storm was fortunately less severe than forecasters had originally projected. The ice left a crystal coating on trees and structures. However, there was still fallen tree damage and power outages in some areas, particularly in the Laurentian foothills.
On Wednesday, power outages varied across Prescott and Russell with 369 Hydro One customers without electricity at around 2:30 pm in Rockland. However, by 7:30 pm, there was no electricity for 2,677 customers in the areas of Wendover, Plantagenet, Riceville, and Fournier. Around Dunvegan, the electricity was also off for 57 customers at that time on Wednesday.
By 11 pm on Wednesday, the number of Hydro One customers without service in Prescott and Russell, and North Glengarry had shrunk to 175. As of 2 pm on Thursday, March 12, only 20 customers were still affected.
The power outage situation for Hydro-Québec in Argenteuil intensified throughout Wednesday and Thursday. There were just 31 customers without service around chemin Scotch, north of Autoroute 50 in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge at around 2:30 pm on Wednesday. By 5:45 pm, the number of affected customers had increased to 516 in the area immediately east of Lachute.
At 11 pm on Wednesday, 250 Hydro-Québec customers had no electricity around Avoca and Lac MacGillivray in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, and at Cushing in Brownsburg-Chatham.
Hydro-Québec outages increased into Thursday. At 11 am, more than 2,000 customers were affected in Brownsburg-Chatham, rural areas of Lachute, Gore, and Wentworth.
Despite the risks to safety, property, and infrastructure, the coating of ice on almost all outdoor surfaces was quite beautiful, even though by mid-March, many of us are no longer finding anything about winter weather very attractive.
