PHOTOS: Vehicles caught in flooding after intense storms batter southern Ontario
Severe thunderstorms swept through parts of southern Ontario on Wednesday, causing damage and localized flooding, including to the Don Valley Parkway. Below are scenes from the storms.
A stout line of severe thunderstorms swept through southern Ontario on Wednesday with high winds, hail, torrential downpours and tornado warnings.
The storms brought down trees and power lines throughout the region, producing enough rainfall to cause localized flooding. Around 7:25 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, CP24 reported police were actively rescuing people from flooded cars across Toronto after a heavy downpour left about 65,000 residents without power.
Jane Street and Highway 7 flooding and rescue operation in Vaughan, Ont. (Jeremy Cohn/Submitted to The Weather Network)
According to other reports, another rescue operation happened at the Jane Street and Highway 7 intersection in Vaughan, Ont., after major flooding occurred. Numerous vehicles were trapped in floodwaters and people were rescued by the Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service. It was reported that 20 vehicles were caught in the floodwaters.
Multiple road closures and accidents were reported across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as a result of flooding and winds. As well, numerous events were postponed or cancelled.
Many areas picked up 20-130+ mm of rain in short order, which led to flooding issues on some area roadways.
Rainfall accumulation as of 6:00 p.m. EDT on Sept. 2
During the height of the storm, Hydro One reported more than 155,000 outages across southern parts of the province.
The storm produced powerful wind gusts, upwards of 100 km/h in some communities as the heart of the storms arrived.
Hail was also a factor, with one hail core exceeding 5 cm in some locations in the Greater Toronto Area.
A renewed threat of thunderstorms will develop over southern Ontario during the day on Thursday, though they are expected to be less severe in nature.
See some of the damage and impacts from Wednesday’s storms, below.
Bathurst and Dupont in Toronto flooded. (The Weather Network)
Damage reported at Rogers Stadium. (Courtesy: Ontario Storm Reports/Ti-An DeMartines via Facebook)
Tree damage in Brantford. (The Weather Network)
Shelf cloud at YYZ at roughly 5 p.m. Sep 2, 2026. (Jeff Taylor/provided)
Storm damage, downed power lines and trees reported in East York around 5:00 p.m. EDT, Sept. 2, 2026. (The Weather Network)
Hail reported in uptown Toronto around 5:00 p.m. EDT. (Rachel West/The Weather Network)
Eerie sky in downtown Toronto at roughly 5:00 pm EDT. (The Weather Network)
Downed trees in Richmond Hill. (Tristan Flear-Hilts/submitted)
Photo captured in Fergus, Ont., around 2:30 p.m. EDT. (The Weather Network)
Ping-pong ball-sized hail in the Greater Toronto Area:
Thumbnail courtesy of Jeremy Cohn, a freelance journalist with The Weather Network.
With files from Jeremy Cohn, a freelance journalist with The Weather Network.