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STORMS BY YEAR:
2008 Photo/Info storm
entries
2006
Photo/Info pages
2005
Photo/Info pages
2004
Photo/Info pages
2003
Photo/Info pages
2002
Stats/Photos/VidClips
2001
Stats/Photos/VidClips
VHS
Video
2000
Storm Archive
Stats & Summary
VHS Video
1999
Storm Archive
Stats
& Summary
Chase Logs
VHS Video
1998
Storm Archive
Stats & Summary
Chase Logs
1987
Edmonton F4
1985
Barrie - Dual F4's
1898
Story with Photos
More Photos:
Adam Bennett
Des Cairns
Randy Colburn
Tim Dyson
Mike Gavrailoff
Dave Girotto
Ron Gravelle
Art Houghton
Ashlie Luska
Stephen Mayne
Patrick McCarthy
Brian Morganti
Colin McIntyre
Jennifer Metcalfe
Marc Nagy
Rob Paola
Mark Rozitis
Lisa Welsh
Colin Williamson
Riley Woytas
Edmonton, Alberta, 1987: F4
Click picture for pictures/info.
And more photos of the above
AVE>
And more photos of the above
here
North Bay, Ontario :
High River, Alberta,
June 27/'96:
Clear Creek, Ontario, Aug.4/'99:
(Video shot by Gage Townsend)
- Canada is 2nd only to
the United States in the number of tornados that touch down each year.
On average, 100 tornados are reported by radar or sighted by people each
year, yet, due to the lack of Doppler radar in Canada (which can predict
tornado formations within a storm), and due to the fact that much of
Canada is sparsely populated, many tornados go undetected. The true
number of tornados that touch down on Canadian soil each year could be
much more than the number reported. What is "severe" weather? Severe
weather is defined as any element of the weather that threaten peoples'
property or safety.
- How does Southern
Ontario compare with the states for tornado frequency? It was stated in
a university study that Southern Ontario has about half of the number of
tornados as the most afflicted region of the U.S. in Oklahoma and
Kansas. The Red River valley of southern Manitoba has reported
frequencies about one-third of the highest values in the U.S.
"Southern Canada definitely has a tornado hazard, all the way from New
Brunswick to the B.C. interior. Only in extreme southwestern Ontario,
though, is an average of one F2 to F4 tornado per 10,000 square miles
per year experienced."
-
Environment Canada defines a severe
thunderstorm as the following: Wind gusts of 90 km/h or greater, hail
of 2 centimeters diameter or greater, rainfall rate greater than 50
millimetres in 1 hour or less, or 75 millimetres in 3 hours or less. |
LATEST UPDATE:
AUG.10 - KITCHENER SUNSET
Thanks to Rachel for these shots of the
sun setting in Kitchener last night...
AUG.9 - SEVERE THUNDERSTORM
St. Catharines, ON :
Time-lapse
of severe thunderstorm's lower clouds as the roll through [download]
Thanks to Mark Munson for shots below
(taken in Welland, ON) :
AUG.9 - 2 MORE TIME-LAPSE VIDEOS
Aug.7, time-lapse of severe
thunderstorm building up [download]
(6.1mb)
Aug.5, time-lapse
clouds at edge of severe thunderstorm [download]
(6.9mb)
AUG.8 - TORNADO @ SHADOW LAKE, JULY 26 2008 :
Photos of tornado with debris, and soon
after touching down on to water.
Shadow Lake, ON (north of Coboconk, ENE of Orillia) - Photo source:
cottagelife.com
AUG.7 - PHOTOGENIC CUMULONIMBUS CLOUD
This shot up over the lake. It was a bit hazy but the shots
turned out ok, except for the fact that the lens I used seems to have
some blur spots on it somewhere (I've cleaned both ends of it so I'm
guessing it's inside somewhere.. grrr..) Time-lapse
video of this
available.
 
AUG.5 - SEVERE STORMS
Severe t-storm warning for this area right now. Only moderate
rain came from the first cell, but the more intense parts of the cell
were about 5-7 miles to the south. More cells approaching (19:00).
AUG.3 - TIME LAPSE CLOUD VIDEOS
3 new
videos made up yesterday of some cloud formations as they rolled
through...
JUL.22 - CONTINUOUS LIGHTNING STORM PASSES TO THE NORTH
A very nice LP storm (for once!) passed by the shore between
10pm-midnight tonight. Severe thunderstorm warning in effect.
Click thumbnails below for images:
MORE FROM 2008 SEASON
HERE...
|
2008 STORM
DATA (listings below are for St. Catharines - personally
witnessed storms only)TA (listings below are for St. Catharines - personally
witnessed storms only)
= Warning
=
Watch (tornado watch/warnings will be listed in text) |
|
Date |
Time |
Cloud Tops |
Description |
|
Apr.11 |
23:00 |
30kft |
light rain, weak thunder/lightning |
|
May.26 |
10:00 |
30kft |
light rain, weak thunder/lightning |
|
May.31 |
00:30 |
45kft |
light rain, frequent lightning, minimal thunder |
|
14:15 |
50kft (meso) |
heavy downpours, frequent lightning/thunder |
|
Jun.5 |
22:15 |
40kft |
frequent lightning with CC/CGs, minimal wind/rain
(lightning
photos here) |
|
Jun.8 |
19:16
Tornado
Warning
(no tornado) |
45kft |
Weak dissipating tstorm, weak thunder, no visible
lightning, no rain, no wind. Tornado warning issued. |
|
20:30 |
50kft |
Severe thunderstorm - sky went dark out over lake
followed by strong winds, heavy rain, very frequent lightning
and loud thunder. Lots of CC and CG lightning. Many
low scud clouds and horizontal cloud shear visible. |
|
Jun.9 |
23:00 |
40kft |
faint thunder, minimal lightning. Light
rain/winds. |
|
Jun.10 |
00:30 |
40kft |
moderate thunder/lightning/winds/rain. |
|
Jun.13 |
21:30 |
45kft |
Intense continuous lightning/thunder. Gusty
winds, heavy downpours. (lightning
photos here) |
|
Jun.15 |
21:30 |
35kft |
Intense lightning, heavy rain, light winds (lightning
photos here) |
|
Jun.16 |
00:00 |
35kft |
Intense lightning, heavy rain, light winds (lightning
photos here) |
|
12:30 |
40kft |
Very close lightning, 'canon/explosion' thunder
from close CGs, moderate rain, light wind.(photos
here) |
|
Jun.23 |
12:30 |
40kft |
Tiny little cell put down a brief burst of heavy
rain and weak-moderate thunder. |
|
Jun.28 |
02:30 |
? |
moderate thunder/lightning, moderate rain, light
winds |
|
Jun.29 |
12:45 |
40kft |
Torrential downpours and very visible rain core
while chasing, constant thunder, strong lightning, large hail
reported at Niagara Airport, and in St. Catharines (Walmart on
Welland Ave.)
Warning. |
|
Jul.11 |
06:00 |
35kft |
Heavy rain, loud thunder and close lightning
strikes (but not many) |
|
Jul.16 |
06:30 |
? |
Light thunder/rain. |
|
Jul.17 |
03:45 |
35kft |
Frequent lightning, moderate rain, light winds. |
|
Jul.19 |
14:00 |
25kft |
Cell 1: Light rain/thunder. Cell 2: heavy
rain, moderate wind, frequent thunder, very close CG lightning
producing 'cannon' thunder (big 'BANG!' sounding like a truck
just hit the house) |
|
Jul.21 |
14:27 |
no storm |
No storm, no rain, blue sky. |
|
Jul.22 |
22:15 |
45kft |
Continuous lightning, very active low-level cloud
structure. (lightning
photos here)
Earlier in the day this system produced a tornado
(pictures are online including airborne debris) in Welland in the afternoon. |
|
Jul.23 |
00:45 |
35kft |
Small but very circular (on radar) cell passed
through producing frequent lightning |
|
Jul.23 |
12:45 |
35kft |
Moderate thunder/lightning. Heavy rain,
light wind. |
|
Jul.24 |
07:15 |
30kft |
Very tiny storm on radar put out a LOUD show.
Lots of close CG lightning and very loud thunder. Heavy
rain for long periods. |
|
14:15 |
35kft |
Moderate to heavy rain, CG lightning. Light
to medium winds. 2 reports of funnels in Smithville. |
|
Jul.26 |
09:30 |
30kft |
Weak storm, light rain, but produced some close
lightning and loud thunder. |
|
14:30 |
40kft |
Strong storm out on lake near Hamilton dissipated
as it approached. Light wind/thunder, sprinkle of rain. |
|
Jul.30 |
10:50 |
35kft |
Weak storm |
|
Aug.05 |
18:00 |
50kft |
Moderate thunder, little visible lightning,
moderate rain, no wind. |
|
Aug.07 |
17:30 |
41kft |
Weak but continuous thunder, moderate visible
lightning, light winds. Storm developed to the south and
continued to move south so we just got the back-end of it here.
Not sure why a warning was issued half an hour after the storm
was past the city. |
|
Aug.09 |
15:30 |
40kft |
Severe storm put out some active low-level cloud
formations and some nice scud clouds. Light rain, moderate
wind. Moderate thunder/lightning. Time-lapse video
in videos section. |
|
Aug.11 |
19:30 |
30kft |
|
|
Aug.17 |
06:00 |
? |
Some close lightning and very loud thunder, light
winds, moderate rain. |
|
Aug.24 |
13:45 |
40kft |
Moderate rolling thunder, moderate rain, light wind. Power
went out. |
|
2007 Ontario Tornado Listing
(F# = confirmed, F? = probable) |
|
May.26 |
? |
Windy Lake Provincial Park (near Sudbury) |
F0 |
|
May.26 |
? |
Reynolds Lake (NE of North Bay) |
F0 |
|
Jun.6 |
18:00 |
Sault Ste. Marie |
possible F0-F1
Severe thunderstorms passed through the Sault Ste Marie area on
Friday June 6 near 6 PM EDT. Damage was reported at a tractor
dealership near echo bay. Photographic evidence suggests most
of The damage was rated as Fujita scale zero (f zero) associated
With winds up to 115 km/h. However a roof was torn off a
warehouse suggesting winds in the Fujita one range (f1) between
120 to 170 km/h. |
|
Jun.8 |
17:00 |
Lucan (north of London) |
F1 UPON REVIEW
OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND CONVERSATIONS WITH AN EYEWITNESS. THIS
TORNADO'S PATH WAS ABOUT 1 KM LONG AND 10 TO 20 METRES WIDE. THE
MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS THE TOTAL ROOF REMOVAL OF A SHED.
THIS TORNADO IS THE THIRD TORNADO OF THE SEASON SO FAR IN
ONTARIO. |
|
Jun.8 |
18:00 |
30km east of Sarnia, hwy.402 |
F0
THE TORNADO OCCURED ONLY BRIEFLY AND DID NO APPRECIABLE DAMAGE.
IT HAS BEEN RATED AS A FUJITA SCALE ZERO TORNADO - PEAK WINDS UP
TO 110 KM/H - WHICH IS THE WEAKEST ON THE FUJITA SCALE THAT GOES
UP TO 5. FUJITA SCALE 5 TORNADOES HAVE WINDS BETWEEN 420 AND 510
KM/H. |
|
Jun.22 |
? |
NE of Bryanston (near London) |
F0
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9xa11KC32M |
|
Jul.22 |
afternoon |
Welland |
_small.jpg) (photo
credit: Sandra)
F0
Photos from different storm spotters in the area show funnel as
well as airborne debris.
CONFIRMED TORNADO IN WELLAND ON TUESDAY
JUNE 22.
-------------------------------------------------------------
==WEATHER EVENT DISCUSSION==
LATE ON THE AFTERNOON OF JULY 22ND..AN
EAST TO WEST LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED OVER THE NIAGARA
PENINSULA IN RESPONSE TO AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE AND SURFACE
CONVERGENCE AS A RESULT OF NORTHEAST
WINDS OFF OF LAKE ONTARIO. ONE OF
THE THUNDERSTORM CELLS WAS OBSERVED TO FORM A FUNNEL
CLOUD IN THE VICINITY OF WOODLAWN ROAD IN WELLAND.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF SHEET METAL BEING THROWN ABOUT
FROM A NEARBY CONSTRUCTION SITE..AND FIRST HAND REPORTS
OF WIND ROTATION AT THE SURFACE..HAS LED ENVIRONMENT
CANADA TO CONCLUDE THAT A WEAK TORNADO WAS PRESENT
AROUND 5.30 PM. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS
REPORTED. THIS TORNADO HAS THUS BEEN ASSESSED AS FUJITA
SCALE ZERO (WIND SPEEDS OF UP TO 110 KM/H). THIS REPRESENTS
THE 7TH OFFICIAL TORNADO IN ONTARIO THIS SEASON. THE
SUMMER SEVERE WEATHER SEASON RUNS FROM LATE APRIL UNTIL
EARLY OCTOBER. ON AVERAGE ONTARIO RECEIVES ABOUT 11
TORNADOES PER SEASON.
-------------------------------------------------------------
TIME(LCL) LOCATION EVENT
DESCRIPTION
5.30 PM WELLAND CONFIRMED
F-ZERO TORNADO (VICINITY
OF WOODLAWN ROAD)
|
|
Jul.27 |
|
Coboconk (n. Balsam Lake, East of Lake Simcoe) |
 F1 (photo
credit: Krista Lamb)
AWCN11 CWTO 292149
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR ALL OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO AND THE NATIONAL
CAPITAL REGION ISSUED BY ENVIRONMENT CANADA TORONTO AT 5:24 PM
EDT TUESDAY 29 JULY 2008. CONFIRMED TORNADO IN NORTH OF COBOCONK
ON SATURDAY JULY 26.
-------------------------------------------------------------
==WEATHER EVENT DISCUSSION==
AT APPROXIMATELY 2:30 PM SATURDAY JULY 26TH A TORNADO TOUCHED
DOWN JUST NORTH OF COBOCONK IN THE SILVER LAKE AREA. THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE WAS TO AN AREA OF TREES JUST WEST OF SILVER
LAKE. THE STAND WAS DECIMATED WITH TREES BEING UPROOTED AND
SNAPPED OFF AT HEIGHT. A DAMAGE SURVEY TEAM FROM ENVORONMENT
CANADA HAS ASSESSED THE TORNADO AS F-1 ON THE FUJUTA SCALE WITH
WINDS BETWEEN 120 AND 170 KILOMETRES PER HOUR. THIS REPRESENTS
THE 8TH OFFICIAL TORNADO IN ONTARIO THIS SEASON. THE SUMMER
SEVERE WEATHER SEASON RUNS FROM LATE APRIL UNTIL EARLY OCTOBER.
ON AVERAGE ONTARIO RECEIVES ABOUT 11 TORNADOES PER SEASON.
-------------------------------------------------------------
DATE
TIME(LCL) LOCATION EVENT DESCRIPTION
2.30 PM COBOCONK AREA CONFIRMED F-1 TORNADO |
|
Jul.30 |
19:00 |
Hickson (n. of Woodstock) |
 Article
here. |
PICTURE OF THE MOMENT (email
me yours!) Previous photos here!
Photo by Mark Munson, Welland ON - Aug.9, 2008
|
OntarioStorms.com
OntarioStorms.com is located in
.jpg)
