The wind is picking up and so are the power outages and road closures across the region.
Environment Canada says it recorded wind gusts peaking at 93 km/h at 1pm Wednesday and again at 3pm in Chatham-Kent.
A power outage at St. Vincent school in Chatham prompted the St. Clair Catholic District School Board to dismiss students early for the day -- the school will also be closed Thursday because of roof damage caused by the high winds.
Hydro One is also reporting several small outages across Chatham-Kent including one in the Tilbury area where about 100 customers are without power.
Entegrus officials say they are currently responding to the following closures:
Ridgetown - Customers in Ridgetown are experiencing a loss a power outage due to a loss of supply to the town.
Erieau - The town of Erieau is out of power due to loss of supply.
The westbound Hwy. 401 was also completely shut down between Victoria Rd. and Kent Bridge Rd. near Ridgetown because of broken hydro poles and low hydro wires. The highway was fully reopened around 9pm.
