UPDATE: ATCO Electric says power has been restored to almost everyone in the Grande Prairie area. 400 customers are still in the dark but crews are working to get them up and running.
It should come as no surprise that Grande Prairie blasted through a rainfall record on Wednesday. The city saw 64.6 millimetres, far surpassing the previous June 15th record of 18.3 set in 1971.
Despite the heavy rainfall, that wasn’t what caused the most damage in the Swan City. Winds were gusting upwards of 70 kilometres an hour for most of the day yesterday, reaching as high of 100 kilometres in the 5 p.m. hour.
The gusts sent trampolines and other debris flying around neighbourhoods, and led to signs as large a Petro-Canada’s gas station’s falling off and smashing to the ground. The City is also busy cleaning up felled trees and broken branches.
The wind also caused widespread power outages in Grande Prairie and the surrounding area. As of this morning, ATCO Electric says crew are working around the clock to restore them, but there’s no estimated time for restoration.