Tornado confirmed in Teviotdale after stormy Ontario night
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, August 4, 2015, 6:34 AM - Canada has confirmed an EF-2 tornado touched down in Teviotdale, Ontario after violent storms ripped through southern Ontario Sunday afternoon and evening.
The tornado is believed to have occurred 9:06 p.m., coming in from the west and striking a house in Teviotdale just before the residents were able to reach their home, catching them on the side of the road.
Environment Canada was on site doing a damage survey before their assessment led to the conclusion than an EF-2 tornado had struck the area.
On scene in #Teviotdale exploring the EF2 tornado damage from #onstorm @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/ajcFZgeErY
— Krissy Vann (@KrissyVann) August 3, 2015
Environment Canada is also sending a team Tuesday morning to investigate damage in Durham Region. A tornado's strength and classification is typically determined by examining on-scene damage after the fact, not through visual identification.
There were additional storms on Monday, though without the widespread damage of Sunday, and lingering storms are expected into Tuesday, with wet weather possible later in the week.
"Lingering showers to persist in Eastern Ontario and Quebec on Wednesday, and even into Thursday for Montreal," Weather Network meteorologist Matt Grinter said early Tuesday. "Temperatures to be in the low 20's through into the weekend."
Wild Sunday
The Teviotdale twister was part of a strong round of storms that rolled through in two waves on Sunday afternoon and evening.
At least one person is believed to have drowned during the storms: A teenager in Kincardine who went under off the Lake Huron town's pier as the storms were ramping up.
It's not clear whether the storms -- whose strong winds whipped up the lake waters into powerful waves -- were directly responsible for the teen's apparent drowning, but emergency services told the Kincardine News Sunday the weather was seriously hampering search efforts.
"The water is just too rough right now, especially with the weather coming in," Kent Padfield, Kincardine's fire chief, told the News at around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. "Lightning is a huge issue at this point. So we’re going to move all of our people back to the trucks and make a decision."
A person has drowned at #Kincardine's beach. Firefighters and OPP marine unit still searching https://t.co/9l4AQCQsvR pic.twitter.com/NWnYYoaWKE
— KincardineNews (@KincardineNews) August 2, 2015
The storms' power was obvious given the large shelf clouds that rolled over the skies, portending heavy downpours strong winds and hail.
Storm Hunter Mark Robinson observed several waterspouts in the Bayfield area, and tornado damage was reported with some systems, particularly near Teviotdale in Wellington County, where several police cruisers were also damaged, and Port Perry near Oshawa.
Rough estimate of EF-2 tornado damage to this house #onstorm RT @Mikefollings Tornado hits teviotdale ON pic.twitter.com/mVFJuC1kXX
— Chris Scott (@ChrisScottWx) August 3, 2015
Elsewhere, a wind gust of 110 km/h was detected at Grand Bend, while Toronto's Pearson Airport recorded peak winds of 94 km/h. Across the province, similarly strong winds downed power lines, uprooted trees and knocked over trailers and structures like barns, though no major injuries have yet been reported.
Widespread power outages were also reported.
Building flattened by earlier #onstorm near Port Perry "@leighgrills: This is Green tractor in Utica pic.twitter.com/ptVjzojd2g”
— Chris Scott (@ChrisScottWx) August 3, 2015
Damage near Blyth yesterday, looks like straight line winds, but some big trees down. #onstorm pic.twitter.com/3mHEnEv0Ba
— Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) August 3, 2015
More pics from #Utica. Plane wrapped in building and trees everywhere. @weathernetwork @GreenTractorsJD #onstorm pic.twitter.com/13wUgvaJPR
— Rob Ashton (@AshtoniaCows) August 3, 2015
One of many trees down around Port Perry #onstorm "@KimmererMike: @weathernetwork This is in Port Perry, Ontario pic.twitter.com/0FChF9XN8s”
— Chris Scott (@ChrisScottWx) August 3, 2015
Numerous trees were down across the province, and several properties were damaged by winds or debris, according to images posted on social media.
Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings at one point covered most of the Greater Toronto Area, where the skies were no less ominous.
Localized flooding from heavy downpours was reported, and the storms prompted organizers of the VELD Music Festival to cancel the event's second day, triggering the evacuation of thousands of people who had gathered at Downsview Park.
The cancellation of veld probably had something to with this storm cell I captured on my way out of @VELDFest #VELD pic.twitter.com/BOHjK91OeS
— EDMPHOTOS.COM (@edmphotosworld) August 3, 2015
WATCH BELOW: Emergency services search for missing teen
SOURCES: The Weather Network | Kincardine News | CBC News | Blackburn News