Southern Manitoba hit by severe storms, flooding and possible tornadoes

Southern Manitoba was hit by severe storms overnight, bringing heavy rain, flooding, damaging winds and unconfirmed reports of tornadoes across the region.

Environment Canada said Stonewall, north of Winnipeg, recorded more than 250 millimetres of rain by early Wednesday morning, while Winnipeg received 117 millimetres at The Forks.

The storms flooded roads and underpasses across the city, with reports of stranded vehicles, inundated basements and widespread power outages.

Wind gusts reached 130 kilometres per hour near Deloraine in southwestern Manitoba, while several other communities recorded gusts above 100 km/h.

Large hail, ranging from nickel-sized to tennis ball-sized, was also reported in Winnipeg, Sanford and Otterburne.

Environment Canada said there were unconfirmed tornado reports near Ste. Anne and Otterburne, along with numerous sightings of funnel clouds across southern Manitoba.

“There was lots of rotation with the storm and it got down pretty low,” Environment Canada meteorologist Kyle McAuley said to CBC News.

McAuley added that Winnipeg came dangerously close to a tornado event.

“We were definitely at risk a few times … [due to] thunderstorms that were rotating pretty violently," he said.

"This is by far the closest day, within a few years that I could recall, of a tornado hitting Winnipeg or being near Winnipeg."

Manitoba Hydro said thousands of customers remained without power as crews responded to storm damage and downed power lines across the province.