Sixth EF-2 tornado confirmed from damaging July 15th severe storms
The powerful thunderstorms that roared across southern Ontario on July 15th produced at least one more tornado than previously thought.
Researchers with the Western University-based Northern Tornado Project (NTP) announced that their investigations found evidence of a sixth tornado that day, at Sunbeam Lake in the interior of Algonquin Provincial Park.
The investigators say two campers were injured in that storm, which, based on examination of tree damage and satellite imagery, likely produced a tornado with maximum winds of 190 km/h, or EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Its estimated track was around 7 kilometres long and 320 metres at the widest.
With the latest investigation, NTP has confirmed five EF-2 twisters from that day's storms.
The strongest and most dramatic was the tornado that struck the southeast of Barrie in the early afternoon, boasting winds of 210 km/h, a damage path 12 km long and 600 metres at its widest.
The tornado damaged some 150 homes in the city, almost half of which were later deemed unsafe to enter.
At least 10 people were injured and treated at nearby hospitals according to city officials, though no fatalities have been reported.
