A powerful storm on Saturday left a lasting impact in Ontario as city crews continued to deal with the damage it left behind.
On Friday, Western University’s Northern Tornado project announced that two EF-1 tornadoes landed in London last weekend.
Environment Canada confirmed the group’s findings.
“The damage trails are long and narrow, only a few hundred meters wide and long, and that’s almost a telltale sign of a tornado,” said Dr. David Sils, the group’s chief executive.
Sils helped investigate Saturday’s meteorological system, which he said shows two places in the city that were hardest hit.
“The tornado started right here in this industrial building in the Green Valley, knocking down an electric pole with a lot of debris in the air,” he said.
The fallen trees can be seen on Waterloo and Hyman Street in London, Ont. after a severe thunderstorm that passed through the region on May 21, 2022 (Source: Shivang Padhiyar)
The Huron Heights area was also the target of one of the tornadoes in London.
“There was a residential building that lost its roofing and dumped a whole bunch of trees in the Huron Heights area, some very big and healthy, which actually ended up at the airport, which took down some hanger doors and overturned a plane.
Bad weather on Saturday killed 10 people and caused severe damage to trees and buildings across the province.
“It’s certainly one of the biggest storms I’ve ever seen,” said Scott Stafford of the city’s Parks and Forestry Department. “The amount of trees uprooted directly from the ground is significant for other storms.”
A powerful thunderstorm swept through southern Ontario on May 21, 2022, damaging buildings, knocking down trees and even overturning a small plane at London airport. (Source: Richard Wozniak)
London’s city teams are working around the clock to remove trees and debris from roadblocks and access to parks.
Stafford said the damage goes beyond forestry as crews work to repair damage to roads, sidewalks and plant trees.
It could take weeks or even months to repair all the damage from the storm, according to the city.
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