Strong winds expected through WC Saturday

WEST CARLETON – The winds have been blowing the last several days, and Environment Canada is expecting them to pick up to dangerous levels tomorrow (Dec. 3).

“Strong winds are expected with the passage of a cold front on Saturday (Dec. 3),” Evironment Canada released in a statement today (Dec. 2).

Environment Canada is expecting south or southwest winds with gusts up to 70 kilometres per hour ahead of the cold front. West or northwest winds with gusts up to 80 km/h along and behind the front with the timing early Satruday morning through the afternoon.

“A north to south oriented cold front is expected to track east across the region on Saturday,” Environment Canada said. “Strong wind gusts of 70 to 80 km/h are possible with the passage of this front. At this time, the cold front is expected to reach the Toronto area Saturday morning and the Ottawa area near noon on Saturday.”

Environment Canada says the wind gusts will be powerful enough utility outages may occur.

“Damage to buildings, such as roof shingles and windows, may occur,” Environment Canada said. “High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break.”