The Ontario tornado outbreak that damaged 30 km of forest
14 twisters in one evening made for one of Canada’s largest tornado outbreaks on record
Ontario endured one of Canada’s largest tornado outbreaks on record when 14 twisters touched down on the evening of Aug. 2, 2006.
Despite the damage, which included two significant tornadoes, few injuries and no fatalities were reported after the day’s severe storms.
DON’T MISS: The most prolific tornado outbreak tore grass out of the ground
A volatile setup swept through the Great Lakes region during the opening days of Aug. 2006 as a low-pressure system tracked into the region.
Stiff southerly winds blowing into southern Ontario ahead of the system allowed very muggy and unstable air to surge into the region, providing the fuel needed to sustain numerous severe thunderstorms.
These storms encountered enough wind shear to begin rotating as they moved from west to east, producing the first tornado of the evening on the Bruce Peninsula.
The situation intensified in a hurry as the storms tracked into cottage country, producing a dozen tornadoes around the Bancroft area.
Two of the twisters received a significant EF-2 damage rating, including one long-track tornado northeast of Bancroft that carved a 30 km path of destruction through forested areas, according to survey data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Sizeable tornado outbreaks are relatively rare in Canada. The largest outbreak on record occurred in southern Ontario on Aug. 20, 2009, when 19 twisters struck the region.
The world’s largest tornado outbreak struck the United States in late-April 2011, producing 349 confirmed tornadoes from Texas to New York.