Tornado Strikes Near London, Ontario on Tuesday

The Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University has confirmed that a tornado touched down on Tuesday just southeast of London, close to Derwent, Ont.

The team indicated that video footage, radar data, and an initial investigation carried out Tuesday evening provided sufficient evidence to verify the tornado’s occurrence. A survey team is expected to visit the site soon to assess the tornado’s strength and path length.

Derwent is located in the vicinity of Westchester Bourne and Wilton Grove Road, near the Mustang Drive-In.

A line of thunderstorms produced strong winds as it passed through southern Ontario on Tuesday, with reports hinting at a potential tornado around London. Meteorologists noted they received reports of a blown-out car window and a semi-truck overturned on its side.

Researchers from the Northern Tornadoes Project were already present assessing damage. Director Dave Sills mentioned earlier Wednesday that the team had reviewed video showing what “definitely looks like it could be a tornado” southeast of London.

WATCH | Londoner describes the moment a severe storm swept down her street:

Intense winds amid tornado warnings knock down tree on front lawn of London home

Surveillance camera video captures strong winds toppling a large tree on the front lawn of London, Ont., resident Becky Brown and knocking out power at the corner of Trafalgar Street and Bancroft Road on May 19, 2026.

“Thankfully it’s mostly light damage and mostly tree damage. Haven’t seen much in the way of damage to homes or anything like that. But lots of people affected,” Sills said about Tuesday’s storm.

The team also traveled to Huntsville after a thunderstorm hit there Monday night. Police reported that a 19-year-old died after being struck by a falling tree in that area.

Utility crews seemed to be making progress addressing power outages Wednesday in communities heavily impacted by the storm.

Hydro One reported around 1,000 customers in southwestern Ontario were without power by Wednesday afternoon, down from 2,700 earlier in the day. Central Ontario saw improvements too, with about 700 customers still without electricity compared to 3,000 earlier.

Cleanup efforts are under way in the London, Ont., region after a storm swept through the area Tuesday evening, leaving some trees uprooted and damage to vehicles and homes. (Josiane N’tchoreret-Mbiamany)

Heat warnings transitioned into severe thunderstorm and tornado alerts on Tuesday as a cold front pushed away hot humid air lingering over southern Ontario. Alerts buzzed phones and interrupted radio broadcasts across London and into Hamilton as meteorologists described what they termed as a bow-echo storm moving through southern Ontario.

During such storms, straight lines of thunderstorms begin resembling an archer’s bow on weather radar since very strong winds propel them ahead faster than other parts of the system. Tornadoes can sometimes develop along this leading edge.

Southeast of London there were accounts of windows shattered in cars and a semi-truck flipped over onto its side, according to warning preparedness meteorologist Monica Vaswani with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Damage to trees and property is extensive across the London region from Tuesday’s severe storm. (Josiane N’tchoreret-Mbiamany)

“It is that time of year. We’re looking forward to warm temperatures but with warm weather comes threats like thunderstorms followed by severe weather,” she remarked.

“So just remember we are entering later spring when thunderstorm activity tends to increase.”

The first tornado reported in Canada for 2026 occurred earlier this month north of London according to information from Northern Tornadoes Project. It received the lowest rating on Enhanced Fujita scale for tornado intensity.

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