Southwestern Ontario recorded the country's first tornado and downburst of the year.
Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) determined an EF0 downburst was produced during an intense storm near Lucan last Saturday.
A downburst is a powerful downdraft of air that spreads outward rapidly upon hitting the ground. It materialized around 4 p.m. It had an estimated maximum wind speed of 130 kilometres an hour, which was powerful enough to peel the roof off a barn.
Five minutes later, an EF0 tornado with an estimated maximum wind speed of 110 kilometres an hour appeared south of Granton. Damage in that area included an overturned truck and trailer, toppled solar panels on a pedestal, and snapped large tree limbs.
"Due to limited damage indicators in the area, the information available is insufficient to accurately estimate track details, though the tornado path was likely at least 1 kilometre long and tornado motion was from the west," NTP stated in an event summary.
Neither the tornado or downburst resulted in any injuries.
Investigators made the determination after conducting a ground and drone survey of the areas last Sunday. A satellite imagery review is still pending, NTP said.
EF0 is the weakest rating on the enhanced Fujita scale.
