6 j( ]& q9 e4 v9 K1 Y5 Ithe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage. 9 ~1 c- g3 d+ x4 W4 b: X3 l: W! @% e$ H- G) U& }/ c ~' k
! \. ?4 k' d' @ F9 I: B$ t N*********************************************************** & Z0 i& L& `( g" E1 a( p/ b! wResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 3 @, I/ i" ~$ u" `+ i5 h7 kby: PAUL CHOI $ z2 U3 t c, a G gSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET 1 i" T$ m( ]9 r2 ^ _) V# A. A" Z/ l. ~" l
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TORONTO (CP) - Residents of southwestern Ontario were picking up the pieces Saturday, and in some cases waiting for the power to be turned on, after a tornado touched down during a stampede of fierce storms a day earlier.. X- I8 B# W4 v* {$ I, Q* I5 y
& U9 D" O& x% C* }; j* J4 x$ t+ G! |The severe weather, which developed due to humid and unstable air, began in Milverton, Ont., Friday afternoon and quickly gained steam as it moved east towards Fergus, a community near Conestoga Lake./ y2 `! F; e6 z7 P
% h9 k7 l1 J0 e- y9 a7 [7 AIt was here, officials said, where the storm spawned a full-fledged twister close to 300 metres wide that chewed off tree limbs, downed power lines, tossed cars into ditches, and ripped into several homes and barns. 7 V& ? T2 X! u$ Z! F4 T8 I( R% c - F0 s- c5 m6 ^9 p$ B1 _7 h"We've confirmed at this location a Fujita scale F2 tornado occurred, with winds between 180 to 240 kilometres an hour," said Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson on Saturday. "That's confirmed with the damage that we've witnessed."% a4 K! D( L! L; j' I1 C
5 W5 X- Q1 O: p, S7 h6 R: EA two-storey home in the area had its roof torn clean off and a barn behind the home was levelled to its foundation, Coulson said, all damage consistent with a severe tornado.4 Z' b. @: y) a9 B5 m
# v7 y/ z7 ~+ K/ rElsewhere on a nearby highway, a wooden plank was driven into the windshield of a vehicle, another sign of extensive impact damage typically associated with a twister. , N' W/ d. G* S8 c2 O3 O+ C( v1 f; x: O0 j
"A tell-tale sign it was tornadic as opposed to just strong winds was the fact there's (mud) splatter on more than one side of a house," he said. "If it had been one wind gust there would be one side with the splatter.", f( L; a6 O" _5 O
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On Friday, a state of emergency was declared in the community of Centre Wellington, which includes Fergus, after the storm got out of hand. 2 r) B, ^. \) H S5 _+ }0 M $ w9 g- H. O% j0 M( wAmidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.$ |! A! Q2 a, p. P9 w7 u
; e3 G) P3 |3 @8 n0 y"That's pretty amazing given the damage we're seeing here," Coulson said. "(Many) did exactly the right thing. They got into the basement and waited the storm out down there." , Z" W. \% R' w. e# g ! \1 S/ [1 [1 W& s+ y" n" IFergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. 9 b: n& d! I; J3 }+ [/ g1 x) s. j' o5 N) R {2 c3 y
They hunkered down in the furnace room and emerged to find the roof of their home had been partially ripped off and a wall was destroyed.( i# `* J+ j6 o* Z$ O
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"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?"$ `6 x4 A N- u f) d
$ Z& G0 u' |; e0 ? u% ~- l) ]! eOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes. " b4 w. Y8 X6 t1 M3 k: N+ i6 R9 q( v9 ?& X) k5 A7 B% [- R
Aided by an Ontario Provincial Police helicopter, Environment Canada investigators conducted full aerial surveys of the Milverton area, where the storm began, and areas further east., p; n, V- {' B4 C& O/ U
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Coulson said officials reported what appeared to be a one-kilometre wide swath of tree damage near Conestoga Lake. They were looking into whether it was the work of a twister. 6 f% u9 o% f0 R: t ' \9 d& `! t9 U"The big thing for us is going to be to try to link up these different reports to see if it was in fact one long-lived tornado on the ground or a series of tornadoes," he said. 2 g; s1 Z/ i. } b: ] ; L" D% [: T* |8 j) tDue to the storm, nearly 4,400 people were left without power in Fergus and its surrounding areas on Saturday, said Hydro One spokeswoman Kathleen Welsh. 4 ^) |6 x4 h3 P0 P2 ]' {
! B" _" P! ]7 f" oThe majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. 2 q8 U: c8 r- X3 ?0 H/ q! E+ K) @1 q
9 I5 N+ ^- P! E9 V/ ]% I1 qMeanwhile in Toronto, crews were cleaning up from the localized flash flooding that had paralyzed much of the city's main roadways and transit routes, drowning vehicles and leaving motorists knee-deep in water. In one extreme case, flood waters managed to wash away an entire section of road. 2 S7 q; p0 _1 u1 u
. ~' M* l8 \5 x+ \1 a1 ]8 A9 i, S; pDuring the height of the storm, around the time of the afternoon commute home, officials say the city received over 1,700 calls to emergency services. / O, V, p7 b% X; f9 Z 3 z2 b) U6 \( x% X' a4 qBut flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. % T o) [9 ]# g0 l, f
$ {' K t# a* H& A, w0 J"The city's emergency services and the staff that manage our water, transportation, hydro and forests did a fantastic job of keeping the public safe and protecting the assets of the city," said Toronto Mayor David Miller in a statement. % w# U* l6 t7 U+ R- Y) U
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"Emergency services personnel were involved in a number of rescues, evacuations and emergency pumping operations and their work prevented serious injuries or death," he said.7 B$ p. a9 t6 U) S8 i4 |7 s* d% c