August 20, 2009: Ontario's historic tornado outbreak
theweathernetwork.com
Wednesday, August 20, 2014, 12:17 PM - On August 20, 2009, a line of severe storms spawned a staggering 19 tornadoes in Ontario -- blowing away the province's entire annual average of twelve or thirteen per year.
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"A total of 19 tornadoes were confirmed that day from Milton all the way to North Bay including the GTA tornadoes in Woodbridge, Maple and Newmarket," says Weather Network Dayna Vettese, who saw her first ever tornado in Woodbridge that day. "The tornado to hit the city of Durham was responsible for the death of an eleven-year-old. That was the only fatality that day."
More than 10 million people were living under a tornado watch or warning that day -- almost a third of Canada's entire population.
Among the twisters were a total of four that were rated F2, boasting winds up to 253 km/h.
Two of the tornadoes were witnessed by thousands of people in the city of Vaughan in the Greater Toronto Area, where six hundred homes were damaged.
The other two F2s touched down in Grey County, one near Thornbury and another in Durham. States of emergency were declared in the worst-hit areas and Grey County alone suffered around $30 million in damages.
