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The OPP is warning people to stay out of Goderich, Ont. after a tornado is believed to have touched down in the southern Ontario town three hours west of Toronto.
Police are reporting several injuries and damage to buildings in the town off the shores of Lake Huron. The OPP has blocked a major highway to prevent traffic from entering the town.
OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor told The Canadian Press that there is "extensive damage to the downtown core" and there are reports of injuries, the severity of which is not yet known.
In a video posted on YouTube of the town after the storm on Sunday, debris and branches ripped from mature trees can be seen scattered across the ground.
In another video, a pickup truck sits leaning slightly to the right after it appears to have been dented on the driver side.
A car alarm can be heard honking in the distance as people walk around to survey the damage.
CTV Southwestern Ontario is reporting that power is out all over Goderich. Witnesses also said golf-ball sized hail hit the town during the storm.
Goderich ‘looks like a war zone’ after possible tornado
GODERICH—Goderich has a declared a state of emergency after a possible tornado ripped through the town Sunday afternoon, causing widespread damage and injuries.
“There’s a lot of devastation in the downtown area,” said OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor. “Everyone is working to make sure everyone is present and accounted for.”
The storm hit shortly before 4 p.m., bringing with it strong winds, heavy rain and lightning.
“As a result of that, we’ve got buildings that have collapsed, we’ve got roofs missing, we’ve got cars overturns, a lot of debris strewn everywhere,” Rektor said.
OPP has received reports of injuries but Rektor said he could not confirm the number or severity.
The downtown area has been evacuated and roads into the town are closed, he added.
The general manager of radio station CKNX, John Weese, lives in Goderich and said the town “looks like a war zone,” according to the radio station’s website.
Trees and power lines have also been torn down, and the damage includes a gas leak in the emergency control centre in the new town hall.
“Police are on scene at the square, which is devastated from what I hear. We had a storm like this in ‘95, but the damage is far worse,” said Mayor Deb Shewfelt.
Benmiller Inn and Spa is one of the damaged buildings, the Falls Reserve Conservation Area confirmed.
The Knights of Columbus Community Hall on Parsons Crt. is currently open as a refuge centre.
Environment Canada is sending out a storm damage team to the region and will confirm tomorrow whether the damage was a tornado, said meteorologist Sarah Wong.
She said the storm diminished after hitting the Goderich area, and there should be no more storms in Waterloo Region Sunday.
All of Southern Ontario has been under a severe thunderstorm watch Sunday afternoon, from Lake Huron in the west to the St. Lawrence River.
Toronto also was on a tornado watch alert, with strong winds of 120 km/hour
Tornadoes are common in southern Ontario during the spring and summer months. But two years ago, the powerful storms began to pop up in an unprecedented number.
Ontario's deadly tornado outbreak remembered
The Weather Network
On August 20, 2009 a deadly tornado outbreak ripped through southern Ontario. 19 tornadoes touched down.
Imagine 10 million people, one-third of Canada's population, under a tornado watch or warning on the same day. That's exactly what happened on August 20, 2009, when a line of severe thunderstorms swept across southern Ontario. 19 tornadoes touched down, making it the biggest one day tornado outbreak in Canadian history.
Two F2 tornadoes struck the city of Vaughan, where a state of emergency was declared.
“It only took 15 seconds, it went right between our houses, and next thing you know the roof is off and everything is leaking inside the house,” said Vaughan resident John Fiore.
Others say there was no chance for rebuilding what was already there. Some families were even left homeless.
Another F2 tornado that touched down in Durham turned deadly and tragically, an 11-year-old boy lost his life. The twister travelled for almost 50 km, taking out homes and buildings in its path.
As each year passes, residents in the affected areas can't help but wonder if a similar outbreak will occur. According to Chris Scott, a meteorologist at The Weather Network, it is a possibility.
“Severe weather doesn’t have a ‘memory’ of what happened in previous years, so the odds of a tornado hitting Vaughan around this time of year are the same as before August 20th, 2009,” he says. “Think of a casino slot machine. After every play, the machine resets, and the odds of getting a certain result are exactly the same as on the previous play.”
Take shelter if a tornado rips through TORNADO BREAKDOWN
Four of the tornadoes that hit southern Ontario in 2009 were F2 in strength, but what does that mean exactly?
“That's the Fujita Scale that's used in Canada and an F2 can have wind speeds of up to 250 km/h,” says The Weather Network's Chris St. Clair.
“Imagine driving down the highway in your car at 100 km/h and putting your hand out the window, that's what a 100 km/h wind feels like,” explains St. Clair. “At over 250 km/h you start to get a sense of the power that these storms, tornadoes can hold.”
TORNADO WARNING SIGNS
Extremely dark sky with green cloud.
Severe thunderstorms, thunder and lightning.
A funnel cloud.
Hail
Cloud of debris.
WHAT TO DO DURING A TORNADO
Take shelter in basement/small interior room.
Stay away from windows.
Get as close to the ground as possible.
If driving, don't try to outrun a tornado.
If outside, take shelter in a ditch.
Don't miss...
Tornado Safety
Assessing tornado damage with the EF-Scale and F-Scale
The difference between straight-line winds and tornadoes
The destructive power of derechos
Tallying Canada's confirmed tornadoes
Possible tornadoes touch down in Goderich
August 21, 2011 — A cold front sparked severe thunderstorms across parts of southern Ontario Sunday, including one supercell that may have spawned tornadoes in the Goderich area.
A tornado warning was issued for Goderich around 3:45 p.m. Sunday.Radar images showed a supercell with a large hook and strong rotation moving off Lake Huron toward the town.
Within minutes, damage reports began flowing out of the area.
Ontario Provincial Police reported two separate tornado touchdowns, one in Goderich and one in nearby Londesborough. Neither has been confirmed.
As many as eight people were reported injured at a conservation area near Goderich.
Numerous buildings throughout the area were damaged, with roofs and siding ripped off. An entire residential block had to be evacuated as crews worked to contain a large gas leak.
Downed trees and hydro wires blocked roads in Londesborough and Benmiller, stranding drivers in their cars. Fist-sized hail smashed car windows in Goderich.
Marylena Stey, a spokeswoman for Hydro One, said four of the utility's feeder lines were knocked out by fallen tree limbs. About 1,800 customers were left without power.
A waterspout on Lake Ontario near Whitby Sunday afternoon Earlier in the day, severe thunderstorms swept through southern and eastern Ontario.
The Weather Network received multiple reports of a funnel cloud and possible waterspout near Gananoque Sunday morning.
Another cell blasted the Greater Toronto Area. In East York, more than 43 mm of rain fell in just 10 minutes, flooding roads.
Heavy rain also flooded Highway 401 near Yorkdale, snarling traffic.
Strong winds knocked down large trees across the city.
Multiple waterspouts were reported on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario throughout the day.
Two tornadoes touched down in northwestern Ontario: officials
Officials now believe two tornadoes touched down in northwestern Ontario Tuesday -- one near Dryden, and one near Ear Falls.
Environment Canada has yet to confirm the dual touchdowns but says gaps in the damage path suggest more than one tornado hit the ground.
Officials previously said a single F0 tornado touched down west of Kenora and travelled some 80 kilometres to Sioux Falls before fizzling out.
Severe thunderstorms sparked by a cold front were passing through the region at the time, and radar indicated rotation in one cell.
A twister was spotted at both the Dryden and Sioux Lookout Airports between about 4:15 pm and 5:45 pm. People in Lac Seul watched in amazement as the tornado spun past.
If two separate tornadoes are confirmed, they'll likely be given an F1 rating on the Fujita Scale.
Video footage shot by the MNR showed numerous downed and broken trees.
“We saw trees that were scattered in every direction; that is what you’d expect to see in a tornado with a circular air flow,” explained Mitch Miller, an information officer with the MNR.
“In a straight-line wind event, all the trees would be laying in the same direction.”
About 300 hectares of forest were flattened, raising concerns that the damaged area will be more susceptible to fire.
More severe weather fired up in the region Wednesday afternoon as the cold front tracked east.
Tornado warnings were issued for both Timmins and Kapuskasing when some strong cells raced through. The area remained under a tornado watch for several hours Wednesday evening. No tornadoes or funnel clouds were reported.
To stay on top of current conditions in your area, watch The Weather Network on TV. Local forecasts come up every 10 minutes on the 10s. You can also subscribe to receive weather warnings and public alerts on your mobile phone.
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