The storms that swept through Windsor-Essex on Thursday produced two tornados that reportedly ripped the roof off a house, knocked over transport trucks, and caused significant damage to trees in Windsor and Wheatley, experts at Western University have confirmed.
Wheatley also faced a downburst – winds that drop and spread out beneath a storm strong enough to cause harm or disrupt aircraft movements, as reported by the Northern Tornado Project.
Windsor resident Cole Fauteux, whose home suffered damage during the storm, said he was watching the weather report on TV when he heard intense winds and then lost power.
“That’s when we really saw the patio furniture start flying,” Fauteux recalled.
“And we were like, ‘OK, well, it’s time to head in the basement.’ And then we came up here and … we saw this mess here.”
The winds uprooted a large tree in Fauteux’s yard and stripped shingles from his roof, leading rainwater to leak into his home around electrical fixtures.
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The storm uprooted a tree in Cole Fauteux’s yard. (Ken Amlin/CBC)
“The radar indicated that it was there, and it also showed debris being lifted high into the air… We just want to confirm that by looking for a long narrow damage path. If it’s a downburst, it creates more of a wide damage path.”
In Windsor, the tornado’s damage path started at riverfront near Buckingham Road extending all the way to Twin Oaks Industrial Park based on latitude and longitude data from the tornado project’s report.
Nevertheless, most severe destruction occurred around Riverside Drive and Buckingham Road where one house lost its entire roof.
In Wheatley, damage began west of Two Creeks Conservation area stretching towards Lake Erie close to Campers Cove Campground according to their report. The worst destruction was noted just west of Talbot Trail.
The project classified both tornados along with downburst as EF1s which means they had wind speeds between 135 to 175 kilometers per hour.
Windsor resident Nicole Krznaric-Brieda mentioned she got stuck returning from grocery shopping when Windsor’s tornado struck because her car battery died.
‘There’s a roof that landed on my house’
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“I was panicking about that only to get texts from my neighbours asking if we were all OK – that there’s a roof that landed on my house,” she shared.</h3
“So yeah; coming home to this was crazy.”</h3
The city has always been prone to tornadoes; Sills explained. </h3
“Windsor is right in what you might call tornado alley running up from U. S., then along Highway 401,” he said.![]()
A house severely damaged by Sept. 3 tornado. (Ken Amlin/CBC)
“We’ve had 111 tornadoes so far this year. That’s normal for what happens this time of year annually.”</h2
The project utilizes its findings to verify Environment Canada’s tornado alerts so meteorological services can evaluate how well their warning program functions according to Sills.
This information can also assist with building code updates as well as track climate change impacts.
