Tornado warning issued in southern Ontario amid severe storms
A significant spell of heat and humidity will fuel additional rounds of severe thunderstorms through the day Thursday
4:00 p.m. EDT - Severe thunderstorms prompted a tornado warning in southern Ontario on Thursday evening.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a tornado warning for the following areas in southern Ontario:
Winchester - Newington
Morrisburg - Long Sault
"This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation. Take cover immediately, if threatening weather approaches," ECCC said in its warning.
The agency added: "Go indoors to a room on the lowest floor, away from outside walls and windows, such as a basement, bathroom, stairwell or interior closet. Leave mobile homes, vehicles, tents, trailers and other temporary or free-standing shelter, and move to a strong building if you can. As a last resort, lie in a low spot and protect your head from flying debris.”
CURRENT TORNADO WARNINGS (ONTARIO):
Winchester - Newington
Morrisburg - Long Sault
The original article with the full forecast for the region continues below.
A stormy couple of days across Ontario and Quebec will continue into Thursday as a heat wave fuels additional rounds of severe weather across the region.
Pay close attention to watches and warnings in your area. Have a plan in place to act quickly if dangerous thunderstorms threaten your location. Avoid sleeping in rooms where falling trees or tree limbs could pose a hazard.
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Thursday threat builds again over Ontario, Quebec
Days of intense daytime heating have provided two key ingredients for yet another day of severe weather: instability and moisture. Those combined with an approaching cold front will trigger a risk for severe thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and evening hours on Thursday.
The cold front is forecast to slide southward on Thursday afternoon and evening, triggering a line of thunderstorm development along its boundary.
We could see stronger storms with embedded rotation develop northwest of Toronto, around the Guelph area, as well as east of Toronto, around Cobourg.
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The main tornadic threat, however, will be for the Ottawa area, as there is a better chance for wind shear to spin up the storms.
Torrential rainfall will be the primary threat with the high humidity in place. Storms could drop 30-50 mm of rain in a short period of time, which may lead to ponding or flash flooding.
The strongest storms could produce damaging wind gusts of 100 km/h, which may cause tree damage and power outages
Some storms could also produce hailstones 2-4 cm in diameter across the Ottawa Valley and into the Eastern Townships. A non-zero threat for rotation also exists along part of Lake Ontario's north shore and in the Eastern Townships.
There’s considerable uncertainty in the exact location of Thursday’s thunderstorm development with high heat in place and small-scale features acting to trigger the unsettled conditions.