Powerful winds wreaked havoc across the Greater Toronto Area on Sunday, toppling trees and knocking out power to thousands of people.

Toronto and surrounding areas remained under a wind warning as a cold front passed through the region.

In its advisory, Environment Canada said to expect the system to bring damaging winds with gusts of 90 to 110 kilometres per hour.

Toronto Hydro reported scattered outages across the city as a result of winds downing power lines.

In a statement, Toronto Hydro said they are responding quickly and safely as possible.

As of Monday morning, most of the 300 or so customers who remain without power are in East York and Scarborough.

Power was also knocked out in some areas of Peel, York, Halton and Durham regions.

Power outage

Hydro One, which serves residents outside of the GTA, said more than 217,000 customers are without electricity as of 5:45 p.m.

Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said crews responded to numerous calls for elevator rescues and downed hydro wires Sunday afternoon.

"That's normal for us when we see wind speeds and certainly gusts like we're seeing now," Pegg said.

"Anytime the wind gets up this higher, gust this high, we deal with a lot of different incidents."

While it had been a busy and draining day, Pegg said fire crews will continue to work throughout the night.

"Our crews are forever moving around the city in a dynamic deployment model in response to where that incident volume is," he said.

"Our system is robust, and it's nimble, and it's responsive."

Some CP24 viewers sent images of the damage caused by the storm. Gusty winds blew off roofs, backyard fences, a trampoline, and a gazebo.

Weather aftermath

Sukhraj Hundal said he arrived in his Brampton home around 2:30 p.m. when he heard a crash in the backyard.

"I came to the back, and I looked and (the gazebo) had gone flying off the deck," Hundal said, adding that the structure weighs approximately 1,000 pounds.

He said even with four people carrying it, they would only be able to move the gazebo a couple of inches.

That's why Hundal did not expect it to be blown off.

"I was very surprised. We've had some big winds this summer, and it never obviously moved much."

The gazebo landed in their neighbour's backyard.

Gazebo

"They said it sounded like lightning had struck their houses," Hundal said.

"They got the brunt of it. I would say we just kind of heard it falling off the deck, whereas they heard it hit their house, which obviously is extremely worse."

He said he is thankful that no one was hurt.

Fierce winds also caused some fibreglass insulation boards to fly off a building under construction in downtown Toronto.

Police said no injuries were reported, and no properties were damaged.

The weather system also caused headaches for many motorists. Police services in the GTA reported fallen trees and debris blocking down roads.

In Caledon, a tractor-trailer loaded with gingerbread houses was no match with the powerful winds as it was knocked over on Highway 10.

Provincial police said the driver sustained minor injuries. The highway was briefly shut down.

In Mississauga, winds blew an HVAC unit off the roof of a warehouse, Peel police said.

High winds also dislodged a traffic light at the intersection of Derry Road East and Tomken Road.

Construction materials like sheets of drywall and cones were hurled onto the road by strong winds, causing traffic delays.

Speaking to CP24 Sunday afternoon, Const. Akhil Mooken said they responded to many weather-related calls across Peel Region.

"Chaos is the word I would use to describe what's happening on the roads right now with the wind damage."

In some intersections where traffic lights were out, police urged drivers to treat them as an all-way stop.

Peel traffic

"The weather is certainly creating a bit of problem for motorists for pedestrians out there," Mooken said.

"So, if you don't have to travel, whether in a car or on foot, we do encourage you to stay home."

Environment Canada said the winds are expected to ease late Sunday night, and conditions will improve by Monday morning.

It will be mainly cloudy on Monday with a 30 per cent chance of flurries or rain showers. The high will be 5 C.