Funnel cloud just outside of Ridgetown. July 29, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Tracey Forrest) Funnel cloud just outside of Ridgetown. July 29, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Tracey Forrest)
Chatham

Funnel Clouds, But No Tornadoes Confirmed

Environment Canada is still investigating after a couple of funnel clouds and a waterspout formed in the Chatham-Kent and Elgin County areas Sunday.

Severe weather meteorologist Ria Alsen says when they're determining whether a tornado touched down, they rely on damage reports and so far, they haven't received any.

"Any time we have an event like this where we don't have damage or reports of injuries, this is a good thing," says Alsen. "But definitely if people have damage or other photos to share, they can tweet them to #onstorm and send them off to Environment Canada and that information helps us track down what happened."

Alsen says from the video and eyewitness accounts they've gathered so far, it looks like there was a waterspout on Lake Erie south of Ridgetown, while a separate funnel cloud also formed in the Ridgetown-area.

A third funnel cloud was reported in the Tilbury-area near Merlin or North Buxton.

Alsen says from what meteorologists have seen, it appears the systems were relatively weak in nature compared to other storms that produce powerful tornadoes.

"The setup in the atmosphere wasn't really conducive to very strong tornadoes or long-lived events," says Alsen. "Anything that formed was going to be weak and short-lived, kind of evidenced from the photos we've seen."

As for whether Chatham-Kent can expect any similar events this week, Alsen says it's unlikely.

"It looks like we're going to be pretty quiet for the next couple of days... but there are some showers and thunderstorms on the way for [Tuesday]," says Alsen.

Read More Local Stories