An unexpected summer stormed rolled through Winnipeg this morning during the rush hour commute.

The storm brought loud claps of thunder, heavy rain and lighting.

Heavy rain and thunder accompanied commuters on their way to work. While drivers took shelter in their cars, others at home were forced outside because of fire.

“Oh yeah we heard for sure. It was really loud. All the power went out for a second and all the alarms were going off," said Torey Lasko who was evacuated out of her home.

She said the lightning found its way to the building's electrical panel. She said the storm was so powerful  she could feel the building shake and the lightning struck very close to the apartment building.

Some residents blamed a lighting strike for the alarms going off. Fire crews smelled smoke between the second and third flood, but when they inspected the roof, say they found no evidence of lightning hitting the complex.

Environment Canada says when it comes to storms with lighting, people can't be too careful.

“There is electrical activity in these storms,” said Natalie Hasell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada “So lightning is a big concern."

She  said there are  three things needed to create a thunderstorm, instability, moisture and a trigger. This time that trigger was a band of low pressure.

Environment Canada has a lightning danger map, which shows where lightning has struck and where people could be at risk.  The agency advises people look at the map, and go indoors at the first sign of thunder to stay safe.

"Even for non-severe storms, they are still thunderstorms, so there is still lightning even if a watch or warning hasn't been issue."

Hasell said while the storm looked and sounded severe, there was nothing technically severe about it.

A severe storm means frequent lightning, large hail or about 50-milimetres of rain in about an hour. Winnipeg received between 7 and 10 millimeters.

The Winnipeg Fire department said the fire caused 100,000 dollars in damage, and the final cause is under investigation.