Tornado investigators deployed for Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent as widespread damage reported
CBC News | Posted: August 25, 2023 2:49 AM | Last Updated: August 25, 2023
Windsor is dealing with roughly 600 urgent tree-related calls
The Bauer family in Belle River was sheltering in their basement when a tornado warning was issued for parts of southwestern Ontario Thursday night, worried their trampoline would go flying.
Turns out, it was the trailer parked in the driveway that was the real concern: "Completely busted," said Myah Bauer.
The trailer collapsed in on itself and in three pieces strewn across the neighbourhood.
"It was like, 'bang.' It sounded like gunshots outside, it was really, really loud," Bauer said. "Maybe it was the trailer that we honestly heard, but I thought it was thunder at the time."
The family is OK, barring Bauer's brother getting cut on some of the debris this morning while cleaning up. But the family and a friend have all had to take the day off work to begin clearing the mess.
"We're all just coming together to clean this up."
Researchers from Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project have been dispatched to both Windsor and Chatham to study the damage and determine whether a tornado took place. They haven't yet made a finding.
Bauer said with damage like this, she believes it really could have been.
"I think so ... There were really strong winds, very strong."
Damage from downed trees, limbs and branches is widespread across the region, and dozens of power outages remain in place, leaving thousands of homes without electricity.
A tornado warning was issued late Thursday night, bringing high winds and reports of funnel clouds.
A spokesperson with Windsor Regional Hospital said a handful of people have been treated there for storm-related injuries.
Environment Canada meteorologist Mitch Meredith said while it's possible a tornado touched down in the region, it's still too early to tell.
"We did warn for quite a while, almost an hour, for a few signatures on radar that were moving quickly through the Detroit River and down into Lake Erie," Meredith said. "But we can't confirm.
"The challenge with this event is it pretty much was at dark and people were staying inside and hiding. So you're not going to get as many photos and videos that we usually do."
Enwin Utilities Ltd. said that at the peak of the storm, as many as 20,000 people were without power. By 5 p.m. Friday, crews had restored power to all but 600 customers, and anticipated restoring more power by midnight.
Could take over a week to clear fallen trees
City forester Yemi Adeyeye said it could take more than a week to clear up the fallen trees across Windsor after Thursday night's destructive storm.
Adeyeye said they're responding to 400 emergency calls, which is where a tree is on a structure or blocking a roadway, with as many as 200 other urgent calls being triaged.
"Call 311 and give your address and as much information as you can," he said.
Adeyeye said Windsor has already surpassed its tree-related service calls compared to all of 2022.
WATCH | Storm topples tree that destroys car in Windsor:
It was a little after 10 p.m. Thursday night – with strong winds and heavy rain already underway — when Windsor's Gary Roberts heard a crash outside.
His neighbour's large tree had fallen into his yard and directly on top of his car in the driveway.
"Car's obviously totalled," said Roberts. "Driver side, passenger side, doors are popped out, trunks popped up, roof is crushed down to about a foot. The car is sitting on the pavement, so the springs and shocks are toast. The windshield is cracked, front and back. It's a complete write off."
Roberts said the tree is the city's property and he shouldn't be forced to go through his own insurance company.
"This is why I'm upset. I think people should know that when a city tree does personal damage, the city should be responsible. I shouldn't have to pay a deductible. My rate shouldn't go up. I shouldn't be inconvenienced."
Due to "significant storm damage," the walk-in counselling clinic at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Children's Centre is closed until further notice. In addition to this, all regional children's centre buildings are closed.
In Lakeshore, the municipality's town hall, Atlas Tube Recreation Centre and Belle River Marina are shutdown for the day because of no power.
A boil-water advisory previously issued for Kingsville has been rescinded, Windsor's health unit advised Friday afternoon.
Spokesperson Alex Denonville said backup generators have been deployed to maintain water treatment and storm-water pump operations, where possible.
When the tornado warning was issued at 10:36 p.m. Thursday, the weather authority said it was tracking severe thunderstorms that were "possibly producing a tornado," with affected areas including Amherstburg, LaSalle, McGregor, Colchester and Harrow.
Meredith said there were likely some gusts in excess of 100 km/h in parts of Windsor-Essex — although Windsor's airport reporting station remains offline since Wednesday night's storm.
Chatham reported wind gusts of 85 km/h, said Meredith, with reports of over 100 km/h in Michigan.
Calmer and cooler weather is projected going forward, according to the weather agency.
"The big instability in the air mass that featured in the warm front sort of shifted out," said Meredith. "There's going to be still a risk of a thunderstorm over the next few days, but it's not going to be any of the large scale storms coming in from the prairies."
Additional rainfall was also reported in parts of Essex County that were hardest hit during the previous rainfall — another 26 millimetres in Harrow and 66 at Point Pelee.
The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) is extending its flood warning following Thursday night's 20 to 25 millimetres of rain across the area.
"Most surface water channels such as ditches and municipal drains are still at maximum capacity, while larger watercourses have overtopped their banks and spilled into the adjacent low lying floodplain areas," ERCA said in a statement.