Researchers at Western University have confirmed that a second tornado touched down south of London during last Tuesday’s severe weather.
A brief EF0 tornado occurred near Christina, Ont., on May 19, according to the Northern Tornados Project (NTP).
Last week, the research team also identified an EF1 tornado in Derwent, Ont., just north of Belmont. This tornado has been verified to have caused damage across Lambeth, south London, and the Mossley area.
“With a tornado, we’re looking for a long, narrow path of damage,” said NTP director David Sills in an interview with London Morning on Friday.
WATCH | How to know if a tornado touched down near London:
Determining if tornadoes touched down in the London area
London Morning host Andrew Brown spoke with David Sills, the Director of the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University, about the storm’s impact on Tuesday and how they figure out if a tornado actually hit the ground.
As for east London, NTP researchers stated that significant damage there was not from a tornado but rather due to a downburst.
“With a downburst, you’ve got air coming out of the thunderstorm down to the ground and spreading out. It’s very different damage patterns that you find,” Sills explained.
“A downburst tends to be wider and all the damage tends to be in one direction.. Also, when winds occur during this event, there’s usually very heavy rain at the same time, which we tend not to see with tornados.”
The downburst led to winds reaching up to 145 km/h, creating a damage path at least nine kilometres long and one kilometre wide, according to NTP.
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 footage captured strong winds knocking over a large tree on Becky Brown’s front lawn in London, Ont., as well as causing power outages at Trafalgar Street and Bancroft Road on May 19, 2026.
Sills mentioned that researchers will keep investigating Tuesday’s storm and look into reports of a possible third tornado near Melbourne, Ont.
The NTP indicated that more detailed information about what happened around London will be available in the coming days.
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