& L; E: \) _ a" athe southeastern toronto had only a severe storm, no severe damage.; p8 q y' t3 N K ?
: D3 p' Y) a" @8 |* L% [; o/ a 9 X( t( o1 k1 N a, E*********************************************************** 7 [& a" J+ k, c" jResidents of southern Ontario town pick up pieces after confirmed tornado 8 k& c' C1 w3 ~6 P" \& Fby: PAUL CHOI 1 T6 @# f) O" \# Z* CSat Aug 20, 3:47 PM ET/ f1 t. y; c# T5 d- P3 w
+ P8 K* @3 i3 F8 m% }2 V7 W6 q _0 e6 K 8 A, g1 m- w4 j3 F# b8 BTORONTO (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. " A) L" O2 R- i9 ], q6 N# {" s! S8 H" l
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. 9 @. m* t$ Q/ _1 }9 w ; ~+ _, C4 G# O4 D% o) ]7 k2 dIt 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.- s: H# i. b# b6 n% H
0 R2 [ ~* Y5 c1 s"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." 1 n8 q( K+ L) s+ r" \7 f. L ' ]: z: F$ w* Y3 qA 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. 3 ? c2 W! w& O8 y( V% }2 p- e ' @2 P4 B3 Z6 f. U' ]1 IElsewhere 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. 9 P9 |- m) Z) @7 g. e$ y" I- Y6 ~# V5 h3 T% I( J1 h8 {
"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."0 Q' C0 G" v& F5 f6 g9 U; Z3 K
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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. 0 \- C$ r, g2 r, A3 [. n/ h' y0 r2 U( ~' F2 E' [
Amidst the wreckage, no serious injuries were reported, provincial police said.& q$ p- J) |& H: m4 f4 Y g" o( O
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"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." / q0 B5 O% E* W& Q3 R( D% `3 a4 q, F9 q; P$ n% @
Fergus resident Klaus Doerig and his wife, Judy, were at home when the skies turned menacingly grey and tree limbs began flying past their window. / G% v- r; e* W$ @ 9 D8 J1 J5 J: H8 O2 n. XThey 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. # |0 P; `; d* D( Y ; b- `$ R k7 U"We were selling this house," he said. "It was for our retirement. Who would want to buy my house now?" 4 O- J; X9 a1 Y& i& g0 i 9 `( h3 f$ z2 |" N% nOfficials continued studying the aftermath in other areas of southern Ontario Saturday afternoon, trying to determine if other regions were hit by tornadoes.* R/ K$ R/ r. p. |4 N
. G7 ^. k& \, y2 |2 cAided 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.: k3 U# r2 Z$ Z S9 ]: S- s6 \
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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 \* h5 W7 q. R$ [0 L, L8 p: z7 P7 h/ R; J2 X) I8 p
"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. - z& a0 K: p# o {; Z' ], Z) N$ z# u
Due 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. - H& ~) q' i# ?6 r3 k& C4 w # \! e0 e* z" `; G6 i2 @The majority of residents were to have power restored by Saturday night, Welsh said. , e; o7 ?; s1 u5 d" |7 }; ^& E( M! C# @
Meanwhile 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. % z$ ]. D2 y7 B' h
! _; k$ {2 W+ Q0 Y+ iDuring 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. ' @" e1 R; d4 d2 {3 k8 @& N# J8 Y0 B0 m
But flood waters receded rather rapidly and emergency services were quick to respond. , p2 ~5 W v, g* x R
: S9 E4 ]( Y. ~"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. : [ b. x6 v& B9 H5 I6 ^ 2 L$ Q6 v: _9 ~! Z"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.4 m; \) V x. M; J4 k4 P