Sunday night's wicked storms across southwestern Ontario did in fact produce a tornado.
Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) has confirmed an EF-1 twister touched down in Parkhill just before 10 p.m. Sunday night.
A survey team conducting a ground and drone search of the area determined the tornado packed winds of up to 150 km/h, travelled nearly 7 kilometres, and stretched to a width of 300 metres. It caused significant tree and structural damage. Drone footage shot by the team on Monday showed the roof ripped off of one structure in Parkhill.
In nearby Ailsa Craig, the survey team found evidence of an EF-1 downburst. The downburst occurred during the same intense line of storms on Sunday night. Damage in the area was more widespread with the same intensity as the tornado, NTP officials noted. Barns were destroyed, grain bins levelled, and the steeple on the Trinity Chapel ripped off. The downburst had a maximum wind speed of 150 km/h.
It took Hydro One crews until Tuesday afternoon to fully restore power to the areas hardest hit by Sunday's storms.
NTP conducted damage surveys yesterday in SW ON following the 'bow echo' storm the night before. A survey in the Parkhill, ON area found evidence for an EF1 tornado (structural/tree damage). A weak downburst was identified near the end of the track. See summary below. #ONStorm pic.twitter.com/wSxCUxQgC3
— Northern Tornadoes Project ?? (@westernuNTP) September 14, 2021