Unsettled weather leads to more than half dozen tornado warnings in Ontario
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Staff writers
Monday, June 17, 2013, 12:25 PM -
Unsettled weather conditions triggered more than a half dozen tornado warnings for different parts of Ontario Sunday evening.
Storm cloud spotted near London, Ontario (Image: Dave Patrick; @wwxchaser)
Environment Canada said an area stretching from north of Lake Erie to Sudbury was affected by the slow moving system.
"The air mass is quite unstable,'' said Environment Canada forecaster Ron Lee. "They're isolated thunderstorms but it is spreading some very intense thunderstorms.''
Lee said forecasters issued the warnings based on what they could see on radar.
"Cells have tracked in from Michigan, and pushed over Lake Huron into Southwestern Ontario," explained Monica Vaswani, a meteorologist at The Weather Network at the time the warnings were issued. "These cells are rotating and possibly producing tornadoes."
SW ON cell strong but rotation broad, not tornadic but be alert.Will be in Strathroy/W London in 10-20 min. #onstorm pic.twitter.com/bICmN6NWgI
— Brad Rousseau (@bradrousseau) June 16, 2013
[6:37pm EDT] Storm 50 km SW #Sudbury moving SE 45 km/h - TORNADO WARNING #ESPANOLA #KILLARNEY cont'd GREATER #SUDBURY & VICINITY #onstorm
— Dayna Vettese (@daynavettese) June 16, 2013
Two severe storms, possibly tornadic, currently tracking south of Sudbury. Between Killarney & French River? Take cover as storms approach.
— Rob Davis (@RobDavis_Wx) June 16, 2013
A warning was issued for Sudbury and the surrounding vicinity for about 40 minutes before Environment Canada downgraded it to thunderstorm status.
A severe storm cell also prompted tornado warnings for London and the surrounding area.
Lee said there were no reports of any twisters touching down anywhere and no reports of damage or injuries.
"There have been public reports of seeing rotating clouds and very big hail,'' he said.
The warnings were downgraded to thunderstorm status later in the evening. The unstable air mass was moving slowly in an east/southeast direction and Lee said it was possible that further warnings could be issued later Sunday night.
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With files from The Canadian Press
RT @wwxchaser Beautiful flying saucer meso and wallcloud south London #onstorm pic.twitter.com/rJHKGFa8KQ
— The Weather Network (@weathernetwork) June 17, 2013
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