Possible tornado causes damage, power outages in central Ontario

As cleanup efforts continue now in Oklahoma and other storm-ravaged areas of the United States, reports are coming in that Ontario may have seen some of its own tornado activity yesterday, which will be the second of an early-starting season for us if the reports are confirmed.

Two lines of thunderstorms passed through southern Ontario yesterday afternoon, bringing very heavy rain, frequent lightning and strong winds, and there were even reports of 2-3 centimetre hail in some areas. Around 3,000 residents are without power due to the storms, and there have been reports of a small tornado in the area of Cambray, about 30 kms east of Lake Simcoe, that uprooted trees, downed power-lines, left one house without a roof and a scattered a sizeable chunk of a local barn throughout the neighbourhood.

"There are beams from that barn two fields over," said Deb Craven, a local resident, according to an article on myKawartha.com. According to the article, she said that she was watching the sky turn green, and then the barn "just exploded."

[ Related: Oklahoma tornadoes: The view from space ]

Cheryl Ihamaki, who lives on the property the barn is on, was in her house at the time of the storm. "I heard the wind," she said in the interview. "I thought the windows were going to blow out."

Colin and Maxine Beaumont were in their home when the roof of the house was torn off from over their heads, and scattered over their property and into a field across the street.

"It knocked me from the edge of the bed into the wall," said Mr. Beaumont, who was the only one who sustained any injury, although that was from trying to get the couple's cat out from where it took refuge under the bed.

Environment Canada is investigating now to see if it actually was a tornado, but according to what Ms. Craven and Ms. Ihamaki said, they are convinced that what it was.

[ More Geekquinox: Details still scarce as deadly virus claims latest victim ]

These thunderstorms were caused by the same weather system that has spawned numerous severe storms in the United States, along with several tornadoes, including an EF5 — the strongest rating currently given to tornadoes — that tore through Moore, Oklahoma on Monday afternoon, and more storms are in the forecast for today.

Although no warnings or watches have been issued yet, an Environment Canada special weather statement from this morning is saying that there is a risk of severe thunderstorms today, from south of Georgian Bay to east of Lake Ontario, that could bring torrential downpours of 25-50 mm of rain in less than an hour, damaging winds up to 100 km/h, intense lightning, hail and there is even more potential for tornadoes. The risk of these thunderstorms and tornadoes is expected to continue into tonight.

(Image courtesy: Environment Canada)

Geek out with the latest in science and weather.
Follow @ygeekquinox on Twitter!