on May. 20, 2026, 1:17 AM
On Tuesday afternoon and evening, parts of Ontario experienced a tumultuous weather event as severe thunderstorms with tornado warnings rolled through the area, bringing fierce winds, heavy rain, and hail that led to downed trees in places like London.
The warm summer weather in southern Ontario came to a sudden and destructive halt on Tuesday when these hazardous storms moved in ahead of a cold front.
The storms developed during the afternoon and unleashed winds over 90 km/h, large hailstones, torrential rainfall, and frequent lightning. The severe conditions prompted tornado warnings across southwestern Ontario and some areas of cottage country that lasted for several hours.
Tree damage in London, Ont., after severe thunderstorms on May 19. (Paul Campbell/The Weather Network)
Although no tornadoes have been confirmed yet, the storms did cause many large trees to fall in communities such as London, Ont. Additionally, power outages affected tens of thousands of residents throughout southern Ontario as the storms raced through.
In the coming days, it’s expected that damage assessments will be carried out by the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) or Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to investigate what took place.
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Tree damage in London, Ont., after severe thunderstorms on May 19. (Adam Colvin/Submitted to The Weather Network)
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