A violent storm that swept through Southern Manitoba early Saturday morning left many without power, some up to 36 hours as Manitoba Hydro crews worked to clear downed trees.

Communities affected by the power outages included Altona, Carman, Morden and the surrounding areas. In total, Manitoba Hydro say approximately 3,800 calls came in across the province over the weekend.

Dufferin Reeve George Gray says the storm treated trees like matchsticks.

"It just uprooted trees," he says, many falling and taking out power lines.

However, he commended the Manitoba Hydro crews for their work over the weekend.

"They were just inundated with so much activity, they just couldn't do everything all at once," Gray says. "They're the frontline defence for us, and I can't give them anything but credit because they work through cold weather in the winter and all sorts of adverse conditions like this. They're just very, very diligent."

R.M staff have been cleaning up tree debris Monday, as well as clearing downed trees from roadways.

"It was just the ferocity of the storm," Gray says. "At three o'clock in the morning it sounded like a freight train was coming through our yard, and I've never experienced a storm of that nature."

Manitob Hydro Public Affairs Officer Bruce Owen explains crews worked around the clock to keep up with the high volume of calls. He notes in many cases trees were blown down on hydro lines.

"We had a number of poles and obviously wires down," he says. "That was by far the most common problem we had almost across Southern Manitoba."

With trees in full foliage and heavily soaked by the rain, the strong winds break boughs which then take out power lines, he says, adding their first priority in these type of situations is always live wires. However, he thanked customers' for their patience and understanding.

Highways in the Whiteshell are also being repaired following the weekend storms. More than five inches of rain hit areas including Falcon Lake and Caddy Lake Saturday morning, washing out roads, eroding shoulders and resulting in culverts letting go.