Thunderstorm in Ottawa: House struck by lightning leaving hole in roof, shocking Orléans residents

The storm that hit Ottawa Thursday evening was accompanied by heavy rain and lightning that struck a house in Orléans.

Katherine Lemay, who lives in Orléans, told CTV News Ottawa on Friday that she was reading a book in bed Thursday night when she heard a “giant boom” and saw a flash of light.

“Then immediately, all the lights went out in the house,” she said. “I knew right away we were hit. The sound of the boom was like a bomb or a cannon exploding.”

That’s when she ran downstairs, where her husband was watching hockey, and they stood in the dark using the flashlights on their phones.

They realized there was a hole in the roof when they went outside to see what had happened.

“I went outside…and found roof shingles on our lawn. This reinforced my suspicions that we had been struck by lightning. So we grabbed a ladder and went to check the roof from the attic “, added Lemay.

Lemay and her husband then called 911 because the last thing they expected was for the house to be struck by lightning.

When crews arrived at her home to assess the lightning damage, they were surprised to find that nothing ignited. She says firefighters arrived with a lot of trucks because they were ready to fight a fire. She adds that the firefighters told her that normally, when a house is struck by lightning, it catches fire, emphasizing that their case is “unique”.

“The firefighters checked our attic and the hole, as well as our electrical installations to make sure there was no further damage. They also climbed on our roof to put a piece of plastic over the hole to protect it from water damage,” Lemay added.

Lemay is grateful no one was hurt. She said: “We were mostly shocked by what happened and also relieved when we found out it could have been much worse. We could have lost our home.”

Firefighters told Lemay that after a lightning strike, one should not touch the electrical panel, citing the possibility of being “electrocuted, as the panel could still be energized with a load.”

She says the damage was limited to the roof and attic. Currently, they are working with the insurance assessor for repairs, she adds.

Severe weather spread across eastern Ontario on Thursday, triggering several severe weather alerts, including tornado warnings.

Thunderstorms were reported across Ottawa between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. as the severe weather conditions forced a delay in the Ottawa Redblacks game. A total of 11 millimeters of rain were recorded at the Ottawa airport.