It was a nightmare.

Hundreds of Alderwood area homes were without power, or still waiting to be connected, after a terrible wind, pelting rain and hail storm snapped mature trees and downed power lines affecting the lives of many residents.

Toronto Hydro and other emergency crews are working overtime to return power to the area.

Dozens of mature trees were snapped by the howling windstorm leaving as many as 1,000 Toronto Hydro customers without power.

Most of the affected areas were located in and around Horner Ave., Delma Dr., Evans Road, Lakeshore, Brown’s Line and Etobicoke Creek.

Near Avalon Road and Orianna Drive, a huge telephone pole was snapped like a tooth pick and thrown like a javelin into the back window of a vehicle, smashing the glass. Luckily there was no one there.

On Heslop Drive, in Alderwood, a large mature tree broke from the heavy winds and fell on the Hydro wires that connected four home damaging the connections.

And on Savona Drive, a healthy 50-year-old Linden tree, which is used as medicine, was brought down by the storm.

“I am heartbroken and want to cry,” says Cathy, the homeowner. “This tree was healthy and it smelled so great. We will never have a tree like this again.”

She said it was gone in 10-seconds since the incident was captured on a security camera.

Horner Ave. was reduced to one lane near Brown’s Line due to a fallen tree.

There has been “significant damage with trees downed,” Hydro spokesperson Cindy Brooks said. “We do have crews onsite and extra forestry support to help us assess the damage.”

Hydro officials said the damage from the storm requires complex, lengthy repairs.”

Severe thunderstorms swept across the west end of the GTA on August 26 triggering widespread weather watches and warnings.

Fueled by a cold front, along with high heat and humidity, the storms produced pea-sized hail and torrential rainfall that led to localized flooding in some areas.

Environment Canada said roughly 60 millimetres of rain fell in less than an hour.