Hundreds still without power in Toronto on Wednesday after strong winds

Hundreds of Toronto Hydro customers continue to be without power early Wednesday morning after strong winds blew through the city on Tuesday. 

Less than 1,400 people are still without power, down from a peak of around 27,000, a spokesperson for Toronto Hydro said in an email Wednesday.

"We expect most of those remaining customers to be restored by around noon today and will continue with cleanup and restoration efforts until all customers are back online," spokesperson Kate Womby Browne said. 

She said estimated restoration times on the Toronto Hydro outage map are "preliminary and may be updated once crews are able to assess further." 

These restoration times range from Wednesday morning to just after midnight on Friday in areas scattered throughout the city, the map shows. 

If residents come across downed power lines, they are urged to stay back at least 10 metres — about the length of a school bus — and make a report to Toronto Hydro. 

On Tuesday, thousands of people faced power outages across Toronto. Before 7 p.m., the weather prompted Scotiabank Arena to ask fans to leave the tailgate party at Maple Leaf Square, ahead of Game 5 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators.

The tailgate was reopened minutes later and fans returned to the square.

Toronto police were called to a few incidents that might have been related to the weather on Tuesday. 

A large tree branch fell in the area of St. Clair Avenue W. and Avenue Road, striking a woman and child. Police were called to the scene at about 3:20 p.m. The woman was critically injured, while the 10-year-old girl with her at the time was not hurt.

Police could not confirm if weather was a factor and said they do not know why the branch fell.

Later, shortly before 4 p.m., police were called to the area of Eglinton Avenue W. and Oakwood Avenue for a report of pedestrians being struck by drywall. A man in his 40s, a woman in her 50s and a woman in her 60s suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The women were taken to hospital and the incident is being investigated as an industrial accident.

Police also could not say if weather was a factor.

Shortly after 6 p.m., police were told that construction materials were blowing off buildings due to strong winds at Dovercourt Road and Bloor Street W. Residents were urged to use caution when walking or driving in the area.

The city had been under a severe thunderstorm warning, a severe thunderstorm watch and a special weather statement earlier in the day but all three weather alerts were lifted before 9 p.m.