On Thursday, many people in midwestern Ontario began the cleanup process following severe storms that struck the area late Wednesday afternoon, causing trees and power lines to fall.
The counties of Huron and Perth faced the worst damage as high winds exceeding 100 kilometres an hour, heavy rainfall, and large hail moved inland from Lake Huron.
Environment Canada issued severe thunderstorm warnings across midwestern and southwestern Ontario. By 4:30 p. m., some of these warnings were upgraded to orange and red-level tornado alerts. Areas like Clinton, Mitchell, Seaforth, and Vanastra were under a red tornado warning, but it still needs to be confirmed if a tornado actually touched down.
The Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University announced they would dispatch damage assessment teams on Thursday morning.
“An active storm day in parts of southern Ontario with most damage being reported from about Bayfield to Cambridge. Some of the damage is significant (e. g. barn destroyed),” Northern Tornadoes Project said in a social media post. “It appears the damage is mostly due to straight-line winds, but it’s possible that there was a tornado or two involved.”
The tornado research team also cautioned against fake AI-generated images circulating online depicting tornadoes in Guelph and Paris.
“These are becoming increasingly prevalent in storm situations,” Northern Tornadoes Project said.
Meanwhile, Hydro One crews worked overnight to restore power for customers who remained without electricity as of Thursday morning; around 4,500 were still out in the Bayfield area, 3,500 in Goderich, and another 3,600 in Huron East. The utility company urged anyone who sees a downed power line to stay at least ten metres away and report it by calling 911 or Hydro One.
The West Region OPP confirmed several roads were closed due to fallen trees and downed power lines. Affected routes included Perth Line 55 between Highway 23 and Road 66, Highway 8 from Clinton to Road 140, Perth Line 44 from Road 150 to Road 179, and Highway 21 between Zurich-Hensall Road and Sararas Road. You can find the full list of active closures by clicking here.
The Seaforth Golf Club announced it will remain closed for two days after an initial inspection revealed more than 50 trees had been uprooted or broken on their property.
“Nobody was hurt by the storm and there was no significant damage to the clubhouse or other infrastructure that we can tell; however, the course is currently unplayable,” the golf club said in a statement. “We will be closed Thursday, September 3rd and Friday, September 4th. The entire facility is closed; this includes the driving range and practice facilities.”
The golf club hopes to reopen this weekend.
Weather conditions for cleanup efforts are expected to be hot but dry since Environment Canada predicts a mix of sun and clouds for Thursday. The daytime temperature is anticipated to reach up to 24 C but may feel like it’s around 30 with humidity included.
Source link
Source link
