Southern Ontario was battered by persistent, unrelenting and briefly hurricane- strength winds Friday afternoon, local source reported.

At the Region of Waterloo International Airport, a peak gust of 122 km/h was recorded. If sustained, that would have been considered a hurricane-strength wind.

The winds caused widespread power outages. At the peak of the damage, during the early evening hours, at least 200,000 properties across southern Ontario were without electricity.

The high winds were accompanied by a fast-moving line of afternoon thunderstorms. Environment Canada said it received some reports of hail accompanying the storms.