A funnel cloud was seen in the Leamington area on August 11,
 2017. (Photo courtesy of David Epp via Facebook)A funnel cloud was seen in the Leamington area on August 11, 2017. (Photo courtesy of David Epp via Facebook)
Chatham

UPDATE: Essex County Tornado Confirmed (VIDEO)

Environment Canada has confirmed that a tornado ripped through the Leamington and Wheatley-area Friday night.

The tornado moved from lower Michigan across Essex County and reached Leamington at about 5:40pm.

Before the tornado was spotted, a tornado watch was issued by the weather agency for Chatham-Kent, Windsor-Essex, Sarnia and Western Lambton County due to weather conditions that were favourable for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

Severe Weather Meteorologist Rob Kuhn says the tornado was fairly minor, but did cause some damage.

"We have confirmed it as an EF-0 tornado, with maximum winds at 230 km per hour. We've seen photos of solar panels, as well as a greenhouse, that were damaged in Leamington. [There were] no reports of any further damage in any other area," says Kuhn.

Kuhn says tornadoes are common for this region.

"Essex and Kent counties are in the part of Canada that gets amongst the most tornadoes every year, given that we're fairly far to the south and closest to the U.S mid-west tornado belt... so yes this is not a surprise at all," explains Kuhn.

Kuhn says there's a definite possibility that both Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent could see more tornadoes this summer.

Thiessen Apple Orchards in Leamington confirmed via their Facebook page that the tornado touched down on their property but there were no reports of damaged apple trees. At Point Pelee National Park, a power outage had crews making repairs for several hours Saturday, limiting access to the park.

Video submitted by Blackburn News listener Sasa Huskic.

https://twitter.com/LeamingtonFire1/status/896391117478014977

https://www.facebook.com/sasa.huskic/videos/10154556422071086/

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