Tornado threat results in power outages, more rainfall across Windsor-Essex
Dozens of power outages are reported across Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent this morning, leaving thousands of homes without electricity.
Despite a Tornado warning put in place late Thursday night, brining high winds and reports of funnel clouds, Environment Canada says there is nothing confirmed as of yet about anything touching down across the region.
Storm damage is shown around an Elizabeth Street home in Comber, Ont., following an August storm. (Dave Braukis)
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Meteorologist Mitch Meredith says while it's possible a tornado touched down in the region, it's still too early to tell.
"We did warn for quite a while, like almost an hour, for a few signatures on radar that were moving quickly through the Detroit River and down into Lake Erie. Um, but we can't confirm," he said.
According to Meredith, there's been lots of damage report across the area, with downed trees, power outages and poles down but they can't confirm if there was a twister.
"The challenge with this event is it pretty much was at dark and people were, um, kind of staying inside and hiding. So you're not going to get as many photos and videos that we usually do."
David Sills, executive director of the Northern Tornadoes Project, says from the information his team has combed through so far, they haven't seen enough "concentrated damage" to indicate a tornado touched down during last night's storm.
Todd Cook, a homeowner in the 5400 block of Riverside Drive East, moves some of the many fallen branches on his property on Aug. 25, 2023. (Dalson Chen/CBC)
Due to "significant storm damage," Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare Children's Centre walk-in counselling clinic is closed until further notice. In addition to this, all regional children's centre buildings are closed.
In Lakeshore, the municipality's town hall, Atlas Tube Recreation Centre and Belle River Marina are shutdown for the day because of no power.
Spokesperson Alex Denonville says backup generators have been deployed to maintain water treatment and stormwater pump operations, where possible.
Flooding across Hidden Creek Condominium Community in the town of McGregor, Ont. (Dale Molnar/CBC)
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When the tornado warning was issued at 10:36 p.m. Thursday, the weather authority said it was tracking severe thunderstorms that were "possibly producing a tornado," with affected areas including Amherstburg, LaSalle, McGregor, Colchester and Harrow.
Heavy fallen branches fill the driveway of a stately home in the 6400 block of Riverside Drive East in Windsor on Aug. 25, 2023. (Dalson Chen/CBC)
Meredith says there were likely some gusts in excess of 100 km/hour in parts of Windsor-Essex — although Windsor's airport reporting station remains offline since Wednesday night's storm.
Chatham reported wind gusts of 85 km/hour, says Meredith, with reports over 100 km/hour in Michigan.
A portion of boulevard is taped off after fallen trees and branches at 1165 Howard Avenue in Windsor, Ont. (Dale Molnar/CBC)
Calmer and cooler weather is projected going forward, according to the weather agency.
"The big instability in the air mass that featured in the warm front sort of shifted out. There's going to be still a risk of a thunderstorm over the next few days, but it's not going to be any of the large scale storms coming in from the prairies."
Lightning strike is capture over the General Motors building in downtown Detroit in Aug. 25, 2023. (Steve Biro)
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There was also additional rainfall reported in parts of Essex County that were hardest hit during the previous rainfall event.
Another 26 millimetres in Harrow, and 66 at Point Pelee.
See the incredible lightning show in Ontario Thursday evening:
Thumbnail courtesy of Dale Molnar via CBC
This article was originally published for CBC News.