No major damage after storms bring high winds, hail to Barrie

Barrie may be a little soggy, but overall remained pretty much unscathed following yesterday’s storms.

Despite multiple storms that included warnings of heavy rain, wind and even possible tornadoes throughout the day — the first of which hit Barrie around the lunch hour Wednesday afternoon — neither Barrie Police Service nor Barrie Fire and Emergency Service are reporting any injuries or serious damage. 

Environment Canada issued several severe thunderstorm alerts throughout the day, warning of potential “toonie-sized hail” and winds that were anticipated to reach up to 90 kilometres per hour at times.

“I would say that Barrie weathered the storms pretty well given everything,” Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon told BarrieToday. “I understand that there was localized flooding, but nothing significant appears to have transpired.”

Leon said while they did receive a few calls for service in the early afternoon, nothing serious occurred as a result of the storm.

“We had a dangerous condition reported, a tree limb down and wires affected on Gunn Street and a large tree down on Ottaway Avenue, which the city was notified of,” he said. “People were watching things very closely.

"I know the south end got some hail, while the north end experienced some more of the wind," Leon added. 

Deputy Fire Chief Carrie Clark told BarrieToday crews did not get any storm-related calls.

“Just mostly medical calls. There was the odd malfunctioning smoke alarm and some tiered medical calls,” she said.