On Wednesday, July 20, 2022, Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Pelham area as conditions were favourable for developing severe thunderstorms capable of producing strong wind gusts and large hail. Wind gusts up to 100 km/h were expected.

During the evening of July 20, beginning at approximately 10:30 pm, the storm began to impact areas within Pelham. High winds and heavy rain were experienced until midnight.

The storm cell impacted localized areas within Pelham municipality (indicated in the image above), and several areas received extensive damage due to high winds and falling trees. Several hydro poles were damaged and resulted in the loss of power to area residents. Both electricity providers that service the Pelham area dispatched crews to attend to the sites. Full service is expected to return to all areas today.

Town staff clean-up crews were activated to work with Hydro providers, the volunteer fire services, and contractors to clear debris from the main roadways as quickly and safely as possible.

The clean-up from the storm’s impact continues and is expected to be completed within the coming weeks. The volume of debris was significant, and the debris removal will continue to be time-consuming. Town staff are working through all calls for service for downed limbs and trees in a priority sequence.

Debris will be moved to areas off the roadways, and collection teams will return to remove collected materials after the priority clean-up is completed.

Please exercise caution on roadways and when moving on sidewalks and pathways throughout the Town.