The group responsible for tracking storms in Ontario has confirmed that a small tornado and a downburst occurred in Chatham-Kent around the Civic Holiday.
The Northern Tornadoes Project said a storm on August 5 produced an EF0 downburst in New Scotland near Rondeau Provincial Park at around 1:15 p.m., causing tree and roof damage to a barn in the area. The downburst has an estimated maximum wind speed of 125 km/h.
Then on August 6 at around noon, an EF0 tornado formed in the Muirkirk area, causing damage to trees. The small tornado had a max wind speed of 115 km/h and a track length of 10.6 km.
Another EF0 tornado was also reported to have occurred around the same time in Elgin County, southeast of Rodney.
A team from the Northern Tornadoes Project conducted ground and drone surveys on August 9 to assess the damage and confirm the formation of the storm events.
The Northern Tornadoes Project was founded at Western University in 2017 to better detect tornados throughout Canada and improve severe and extreme weather understanding.
