July 23rd: Severe Thunderstorms for Eastern Ontario

If you looked out your window at mid-afternoon you would swear it was mid-night. Dark storm clouds completely filled the skies of Ottawa on the afternoon of July 23^rd. At first, this appeared to be a blessing; we hadn’t seen much precipitation and some rain would be nice. Unfortunately, we got a little bit more then we bargained for.

At first, it seemed like the outlying areas were seeing the worst of the storm. The Lanark region had been put under a Tornado warning and there had already been un-confirmed reports of Tornado touchdowns. At approximately 3:00 Pm Ottawa began to receive its share of the severe weather. A large storm pummeled the Nations Capital with lightening, strong winds and large hail. Downed trees caused damages to properties and power lines which lead to thousands of people without hydro. Probably the most frightening part of the storm was the golf-ball sized hail. The hail was so large that it caused significant damages to the automobiles of many Ottawa residents.

The Account Managers of Rhodes & Williams have been very busy this week assisting all of their clients’ needs surrounding this storm. When Personal Lines Account Manager-Carol Kelly was asked about the storm, she responded “I’m up to about 10 auto claims”. Carol continued to explain that the hail was so large it caused considerable damage to the exterior of many vehicles. West of Ottawa, strong winds brought down thousands of trees. Personal Lines Account Manager- Laurie Hall-Groulx has been busy assisting clients with damages resulting from fallen trees.

July 23^rd is a prime example of the weather forces that Ontarians should be prepared for. Always monitor weather bulletins and plan accordingly if severe weather is imminent in your area.

 Read more about this storm in a story created by local live tweets of people on scene: