2 weak twisters seen in London as hurricane remnants crossed region: researchers

Researchers with Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) have confirmed that a pair of weak tornadoes touched down in London last week as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl crossed through the region.

Both twisters touched down around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and both have been rated EF-0, the lowest severity on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with estimated maximum wind speeds of 90 km/h.

No injuries were reported in either tornado, and the Northern Tornadoes Project says they were the only ones reported linked to Beryl's remnants.

One of the tornadoes touched down in the city's Hyde Park neighbourhood, causing weak tree damage and damage to some crops, and leaving a path about 10 metres wide, according to the NTP.

The twister travelled about 2.6 kilometres from the northern end of the London Hunt and Country Club, located northwest of Hyde Park Road and Oxford Street, to an area southwest of Hyde Park and Fanshawe Park Road.

At the same time, a separate tornado touched down in the city's Cherryhill neighbourhood, also causing weak tree damage. A drone photograph published by NTP shows some downed tree branches on the front lawn of the Chelsey Park assisted living facility on Oxford Street West. 

"It was a line of showers, I don't think there was any lightning that came across with it," said Dave Sills, NTP's executive director.

"There were a couple (of) people that managed to get video of this low-level rotation that was occurring at the back end of these showers, and it looked like funnel clouds."

Environment Canada did not issue a tornado warning at the time, but Sills said it would have been extremely difficult to predict, saying the "traditional tornado ingredients" weren't there. 

"It was just the environment around the hurricane remnants that there was enough low-level wind shear and instability that can generate these kinds of things," he said.

Sills said the tornado season so far has been relatively standard to date, with 50 confirmed across the country. Of those, three were rated EF-2, 12 were EF-1, and the rest EF-0.

However, he said research by the Northern Tornadoes Project has found some of the biggest tornadoes that are reported happen in the late summer, and even into early fall.

The group is also examining a potential link between wildfires and their possible inhibiting effect on tornado quantity and severity in Canada.

How researchers measure the intensity of tornadoes

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Researchers from the Northern Tornadoes Project were in Barrhaven Friday assessing the damage from a tornado that swept through the area on Thursday, as part of the project's mandate to document and capture data for every tornado in Canada.

"Certainly, tornado season is not over, and we'll have to be vigilant. Even in the next few days, there's a chance of severe storms in our area."

According to Environment Canada, thunderstorms are expected to pass through London and Middlesex County on Sunday, bringing potential strong wind gusts, large hail, and the possibility of an isolated tornado.

There is a 60 per cent chance of showers on Monday and Tuesday, with a risk of a thunderstorm on Monday, according to the agency's forecast.