Tornado confirmed, major damage in Ontario

Tuesday, October 18, 2016, 3:12 PM - Although rare for mid-October, a line of severe thunderstorms caused significant damage to areas near Georgian Bay late Monday afternoon. Environment Canada has confirmed on Tuesday that a tornado was responsible for much of the severe damage.

"A tornado touched down near Stayner, Ontario on Monday afternoon at around 4 p.m., resulting in damage that included uprooted trees and an overturned trailer," the weather agency said in a statement.

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The strength of the tornado on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale has yet to be determined.

"A downburst was the initial assumption for the Collingwood area, which is a swath of air rapidly descending" says Weather Network meteorologist Matt Grinter.

Collingwood saw a roof torn from an industrial building. The damage is still being investigated.

So far, Ontario has had 11 tornadoes this year.

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In addition to the powerful winds, which gusted over 100 km/h in some places, large hail and heavy rain accompanied the storms. Flash flooding hit the Barrie area forced some drivers to abandon their cars and head for higher ground as water levels rose and windshield wipers struggled to keep up.

At the height of the storm, over 40,000 customers were without power with roughly 29,000 restored by midnight on Monday.

"Crews worked hard through the night and made progress in their restoration efforts," tweeted Hydro One Tuesday morning. "7,000 customers remain without power."

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Conditions will remain calm on Wednesday as high pressure dominates, but another low pressure system tracking south of the lower Great Lakes will bring a soaking rain to much of southern Ontario and Quebec on Thursday and Friday.

"Colder temperatures spread in behind the system with lake effect rain showers likely southeast of the Great Lakes through the weekend and into next week," says Weather Network meteorologist Dr. Doug Gillham.

PHOTOS: Here's a closer look back at Monday's damaging storms.