F-1 Tornado

Cool weather continues across most of Canada so far this June. This morning the temperature is only 0C (32F) in Churchill, Manitoba with freezing rain. The freezing rain is expected to change to a few centimetres of snow today. Meanwhile frost warnings are in effect for the lower north shore here in Quebec as well as the Saguenay and Lac St. Jean regions. The cool weather is expected to persist into the weekend. High pressure will dominate the region today with sunny skies but below normal temperatures. Low pressure will give southern Quebec and eastern Ontario showers late Wednesday into Thursday before skies clear out for another pleasant Friday. The weekend looks a little sketchy at this point, lets wait untill we get closer.

Environment Canada has confirmed an F-1 tornado in the Leamington area Saturday night. The damage path was 1km wide by 5km in length. A state of emergency is still in effect in Essex County due to the severe and extensive tree damage, as well as major power outages. Hydro One expects that it will take several days to repair and replace damaged lines, transformers and poles. Southwest Ontario was not the only region affected by severe weather on Saturday. During the afternoon hours several severe thunderstorms moved across eastern Ontario and western Quebec as far as the Island of Montreal. One of theses storms produced an F-1 tornado near Ste-Anne-de-Prescott in the extreme eastern part of Ontario. The storm caused considerable damage to several farms as well as uprooting trees and downing power lines as it pressed eastward towards the Quebec border and dissipated. According to Environment Canada the damage path was about 8km long and ranged in width from 20 to 30 metres. An F-1 tornado is capable of winds up to 180km/h. The tornadoes were the first two of the season for Ontario. Canada usually receives on average about 80 tornadoes each year.