“I said to my daughter I want to close my eyes, go to sleep, come back and say ‘This didn't happen,’” says Gravenhurst resident Trudy Moritz.

But it did. And Moritz is lucky to be alive. Just minutes before a tree fell on her house she had been standing in the driveway.

“By the time I realized something was wrong I heard this huge banging that practically lifted me a foot or so off the floor and I heard every glass in the house tingle,” she says. “And then everything went black but it wasn't just black it was the tree that came down and closed my window, just the sight of it, and then well I really got scared.”

Her daughter drove up to be with her today, and couldn't believe the damage.

“When I pulled into the driveway I cried,” says Verona Coxe, Moritz's daughter. “I was so glad it wasn't worse. But seeing the house like this, it's devastating.”

In Gravenhurst, last night's storm uprooted trees. Some were still blocking roads today. Many people are still in disbelief.

Bethune drive got hit particularly hard.

“All of a sudden this wind came up out of nowhere and we just watched it circle our house,” says resident Debbie Hudson. “It was like crazy, out of a movie

People were left without power as wires were snapped and fell onto the roads. For many, today was day to clean up.

But even with the light of day, some people say they feel like they've been left in the dark.  Dave Duncan is still trying to get in touch with his insurance company.

“Last night we tried three times to get a hold of them and we get cut off, and today we've tried two times and still nothing,” he says.

The town is asking people to be patient. While almost all roads are passable, crews are still going to be out cleaning up.

There is no clear timeline when power will be back on for everyone. Hydro one has called in additional support and says they are working around the clock.

Many communities around the region are cleaning up today, July 20, 2013, after a severe storm tore through most of Ontario yesterday.

A large line of severe weather moved across the region yesterday evening, suddenly bringing on heavy rain and high winds. The storm left a path of destruction. Dozens of trees were torn out of the ground and some were sent crashing down onto homes and power lines. The downed power lines were twisted around the trees and streetlights, making cleanup hazardous.

Hydro crews are working to clean up the mess and restore power.

No one was injured when the system rolled through.

As of last night, 150,000 people were without power across the province and about 25,000 in Simcoe County, Muskoka, Haliburton, Dufferin, and York Region.

Hydro One estimates most power will be restored by Sunday evening

An intense storm left more than 20,000 Hydro One customers without power yesterday, July 19, 2013.

High winds, lightning and falling trees and branches caused “considerable damage” to the system.

In a release at 12:30 p.m. today, Hydro One says power has been restored to 102,000 affected customers, but 93,000 remain without power. About 900 employees are working across Ontario to restore electricity.

"This violent storm has caused widespread damage in pockets across Ontario," says VP of operations and maintenance Len McMillan. "Our crews are out in full force clearing trees and rebuilding the distribution system to get power flowing and we appreciate our customers' patience."

An assessment of that damage is ongoing. Hydro One says all customers should be back on by late Sunday afternoon.

The current restoration estimates as of Saturday afternoon, July 20, 2013 are as follows for these areas:

  • Barrie: 818 customers without power, restored by July 20
  • Huntsville: 460 customers without power, restored by July 21
  • Bracebridge: 5,200 customers without power, restored by July 22
  • Fenelon Falls: 6,900 customers without power, restored by July 22
  • Orillia: 7,100 customers without power, restored by July 20
  • Minden: 4,100 customers without power, restored by July 22
  • Penetanguishene: 3,700 customers without power, restored by July 21
  • Alliston: 612 customers without power, restored by July 20
  • Orangeville: 1,014 customers without power, restored by July 20
  • Owen Sound: 35 customers without power, restored by July 20
  • Parry Sound: 346 customers without power, restored by July 20

For more, check out Hydro One’s power outages map.

Tornados

There were tornado watches and warnings for several areas and unconfirmed reports of funnel clouds north of Barrie and south of Bradford.

Experts investigate

Officials from Environment Canada were in our region today surveying the damage left by the storm.

They were over along Letitia Street in Barrie this morning taking a look.

Yesterday's storm brought down power lines and trees. Today people were out cleaning up the mess.

Meteorologists say they need to be here to take a look at things in order to determine exactly what caused the damage.

The group also took a look at storm damage near Horseshoe Valley Road in Oro-Medonte, Port Severn and in Gravenhurst.