A family from eastern Ontario feels fortunate after a tornado tore through their farm near Perth, Ont., last week, damaging their three barns but leaving their home intact.
Mackayla Brady and her husband were on their porch last Wednesday when they noticed dark clouds and heavy rain approaching.
It wasn’t until the wind began to pick up that they realized things were getting serious.
“We had big red barn doors that went to 90 degrees, and I’m talking like massive doors,” Brady said.
In just a few minutes, all three of their barns were completely destroyed.
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The Brady family’s main barn is seen before it was destroyed by the tornado on July 24. (Submitted by Mackayla Brady)
“At 7:31pm we were taking a video of the rain coming in. At 7:34 pm we were videoing the aftermath,” Brady said.
Environment and Climate Change Canada along with Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) believe the storm formed sometime between 7 p. m. and 8 p. m.
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A view of the Brady family’s barns after they were demolished by the tornado. (Celeste Decaire/CBC)
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Brady says there was a strong chance their horses could have been in the barns during the tornado – but thankfully, they were in the field, braving the storm. (Celeste Decaire/CBC)
“They just put their backs to the wind and as soon as it was over, they were fine – which was pretty crazy.”
The storm left those century-old structures beyond repair; now all that’s left for these soybean farmers is to clean up as best as possible and rebuild – something Brady believes could take years.![]()
Darren Gibson says weather seems much different – especially regarding wind – compared to what it was like two decades ago when he first joined his local fire department. (Nick Persaud/CBC)
The NTP team visited Perth over last weekend for damage assessment finding out most significant destruction occurred at Brady’s property.
“I spoke with property owners , honestly , they appeared in better spirits than you’d expect”, Jaffe remarked.
“It’s obviously terrible for them having lost all that property; however , what matters most is knowing they’re okay.”
” It is unfortunate there was a barn lost but other than that we felt pretty lucky compared some areas further south.”
‘It’s crazy to feel lucky in such an unlucky time’
Brady mentioned that they didn’t receive the tornado warning until seven minutes after they started recording the storm. All things considered, she expressed gratitude that her family was safe and that their house remained standing. “It’s crazy to feel lucky in such an unlucky time,” she said. “But we are lucky to have our home here still.” Other than a few knocked-over flower pots and a crooked light fixture, their home was mostly unaffected. Even large debris from the barns, including metal roofing sheets, landed in their soybean field and tree line instead of hitting their house. Their four horses also came through without any injuries. The animals usually take cover inside one of the barns for shelter but weren’t inside at that moment, according to Brady.“Obviously you’re never going to rebuild what we had,” she said. “They don’t make barns the way that they used to so it’s going to cost a lot more than what insurance will ever cover.”
In the meantime, she’s focusing on putting together something temporary for storing tools, hay, and sheltering horses.
‘NTP determines longest EF1 tornado since 80s’
The NTP classified this tornado as an EF1 type, which can reach wind speeds up to 150 kilometers per hour. The path of destruction stretched about 600 meters wide and nearly 40 kilometers long from Christie Lake down toward Jasper Lake passing south of Perth through Rideau Ferry Ontario. “It’s the longest EF1-level tornado that Canada’s had since 1980,” explained Aaron Jaffe from NTP.‘Get prepared’
Darren Gibson , deputy fire chief with Drummond/North Elmsley Tay Valley Fire Rescue stated his department only received one report about tree falling onto power lines. Overall damage appeared rather minor considering how severe storms can be , he noted.” It is unfortunate there was a barn lost but other than that we felt pretty lucky compared some areas further south.”
For future situations involving intense storms like tornados , Gibson recommends people go indoors away from windows seeking basements or even huddling under staircases if need be.
” It’s unpredictable world each summer season brings us differing weather patterns , ” he continued. “ Hopefully conditions stabilize soon ; if not everyone should prepare accordingly.”
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