Northwestern Ontario’s first tornado of the year has been confirmed by researchers at Western University, reaching maximum wind speeds of 190 kilometres an hour and creating a nearly six kilometre-long path of damage.
The EF2 tornado touched down near Law Lake northeast of Mine Centre on July 27. Environment and Climate Change Canada had issued several severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings for the region that day.
“There [were] a number of intense storms that day, and this tornado spawned from a supercell thunderstorm — so that’s a thunderstorm where the whole updraft, the storm, is rotating on a scale that’s larger than the tornado,” said Dave Sills, director of the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western.
Of the eight EF2 tornadoes confirmed in Ontario last year, seven occurred in northwestern Ontario. There were no tornadoes rated higher than EF2 in the province.
It can take researchers longer to confirm tornadoes in more remote areas, as opposed to places near roads and railways where teams can collect ground imagery themselves using drones, he explained. In this case, his crew relied on satellite imagery, which can be challenging.
“Between forest fire smoke and the cloudy days, sometimes you have to wait a while to get a really clear day to compare the before and after shots of a certain area,” said Sills.
“We’re still waiting for clear satellite imagery [for] a few different events, so there may be a couple more additions to the tornado list up in northwestern Ontario based on our satellite analysis.”
‘Know the risks’
The Northern Tornadoes Project dates back to 2017. Last fall, it became part of the broader Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory, a partnership between Western University and ImpactWX, which also includes the Northern Hail Project and Northern Mesonet Project.
“We’ll be looking at building climatologies for all these things, so that we know the risks,” said Sills.
The project’s initial purpose was to help bridge the gaps in data on tornadoes in Canada’s northern communities, where storm systems can be harder to track.
“That’s one of the things we set out to do right from the beginning is try to document better the tornadoes that happen away from population centres,” Sills said.
“We’ve documented hundreds of tornadoes in the boreal forest that we didn’t know about before, both on a year to year basis as we move forward from 2017 when the project started, but also going back to the ’80s.”
That’s one of the things we set out to do right from the beginning is try to document better the tornadoes that happen away from population centres.– Dave Sills, director of the Northern Tornadoes Project
The Northern Tornadoes Project offers OpenData on its website, so anyone can access information about extreme weather events across the country. The overarching goal is to provide people with the tools they need to better prepare for emergency situations, said Sills.
“For risk assessment by municipalities, by governments, by industry, it’s really necessary to have a really robust climatology of tornadoes and other wind types across the country,” he said.
There have been a number of tornado watches and more severe warnings issued in northwestern Ontario this summer. People are encouraged to report possible tornadoes and other severe storms to [email protected]. They can provide information to the Northern Tornadoes Project directly at [email protected] or through its online form, and can also share photos or videos on social media using #ONStorm.
“When there is a threat of high winds, as in the case of a severe thunderstorm or tornado, your first priority is to take shelter. If it is safe to do so, bring livestock and/or pets indoors, close all windows and doors, and secure loose outdoor objects or move them inside,” Environment and Climate Change Canada says on its website.
“Go to the basement or to a small interior room in the centre of the house, such as a closet, bathroom or hallway, on the lowest floor of the building,” it says. “Stay away from all windows, doors and exterior walls, in particular those facing the storm.”
Those boating or swimming should head for land immediately, and those in a vehicle during a tornado should take cover in a low-lying area, such as a ditch, and lie flat.
More information can be found on the government’s website.
