Northern Tornadoes Project continues to investigate damage from Ontario-Quebec storm
It remains unclear whether any tornadoes blew through the Ottawa region on the heels of Saturday’s powerful storm.
Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) is investigating the aftermath of the deadly storm that blew across southern Ontario and Quebec, but analysis will take time.
The NTP said on Twitter crews were in Uxbridge, Ont. and south Ottawa on Sunday to analyze the extent of the damage but, “Given the complexity of the damage due to the derecho, it will require thorough analysis in order to classify and rate the event.”
Crews are also headed to Rawdon, Que. Monday for another investigation.
NTP Executive Director Dr. David Sills told Newstalk 580 CFRA on Monday that he alerted authorities to the power of the storm as it passed through London, Ont., where he is based.
“It blew through the London area and then I knew this was pretty serious and started putting out information saying, ‘Hey, take this more seriously,’” he said.
The Alert Ready system issued an alert Saturday in the Ottawa area just before the storm approached.
The kind of storm that passed through is known as a “derecho”, and is rare in Ontario, Sills said.
“The last big one that went through southern Ontario that caused damage like this was in the ‘90s. So, it’s not a typical storm for us,” he said. “They do get them quite often in the U.S., but here, if we see it once every five or 10 years, that’s about normal.”
Sills said there was enhanced damage in Uxbridge, northeast of Toronto, and in southern Ottawa, which led teams to investigate whether there was a tornado embedded in the derecho. Teams collected data in Uxbridge Sunday, but are back in Ottawa Monday for additional research.
“It’s a lot easier when you’ve got someone who has seen a tornado or has video or a photo so you know what you’re dealing with. There’s been absolutely no photos of funnel clouds with this,” he explained. “What the teams are doing is going to the worst areas of damage, trying to measure up the intensity there and then work out from there a maximum width for the area and a length and by that we should be able to determine if this was a tornado or not.”
Wind speeds reached up to 120 km/h in Ottawa and 100 km/h in Uxbridge, according to Environment Canada.
Sills said it will take time to fully analyze what happened for any evidence of tornadic activity.
“This is a multi-day event for us, as far as going out and doing storm surveys. It’s not very typical for us to have to do that. The last time we did that was the Ottawa area tornadoes in 2018. This is a big event,” he said.
The NTP was in the Casselman area earlier this month, and confirmed an EF0 landspout tornado that did not do any damage.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.