A pair of tornados and a downburst have been confirmed after a summer storm ripped across the region late last week.
Thursday’s storms brought heavy rain, high winds, and hail, leaving damaged buildings and broken trees in its wake.
Crews from the Northern Tornadoes Project, based out of Western University in London, visited the area on Friday, and confirmed an EF1 tornado struck in east Windsor and an EF1 tornado and EF1 downburst in Wheatley.
Officials say the fast-moving tornado started as an EF2 twister in Detroit, crossing the river at Belle Island and wreaking havoc on the city’s’ east end shortly after 4 o’clock, with an estimated maximum wind speed of 165 km/h, track length of seven km. Damage included one house that had its roof thrown 80 metres, and several trees and branches down over a one km wide path.
In Wheatley, a tornado with a maximum wind speed of 145 km/hr threw debris in several directions when it struck a recently built drive shed. The tornado travelled 6.3 km with a maximum path width of 450 metres. A wall of wind and rain hit the town as a downburst, causing significant tree damage, minor roof damage, and toppling two tractor trailers.
While there was significant damage from the storm, no injuries were reported.