LaSalle, Ont. resident catches funnel cloud on camera

A LaSalle resident said he “probably should’ve” been inside as a severe storm blew in Thursday evening – but instead caught footage of a funnel cloud.

“The neighbour actually screamed out some expletives and said, ‘There it is,’” Jason Trealout recalled. “I already had my camera out because I was trying to get lightning and everything else going on, so I pointed it over there.”

The eight-and-a-half second video, timestamped at 10:24 p.m. Thursday, shows the funnel cloud in the sky to the south of Lafferty Avenue.

Two minutes later, at 10:26 p.m., Environment Canada issued a tornado warning.

He shared the video to Facebook, where it’s been viewed more than 55,000 times.

“More than I anticipated,” Trealout said. “I just put it up there for some friends.”

Trealout’s 17-year-old daughter Madison said she was less amused than her father by Thursday night’s storm.

Jason Trealout and his daughter Madison are seen in LaSalle, Ont. on Aug. 25, 2023. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

“I was just trying to get him back in the house because he was standing there trying to get videos and pictures while everyone else was getting into the basement,” she said.

Essex County Emergency Management Coordinator Dan Metcalfe said Madison had the right idea.

“It can be dangerous,” said Metcalfe. “Those are winds that are spinning at over 100 kilometers an hour and they'll pick up all kinds of objects in the environment and start to hurl them around.”

He added, “So if you're outside during a funnel cloud or tornado, you're putting yourself at risk for sure of an injury.”

Jason Trealout points to the spot in the sky where he saw a funnel cloud on Aug. 24, 2023 in LaSalle, Ont. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

Thursday evening’s storm was the latest in a summer long string of such weather.

Metcalfe said he hopes residents are not becoming numb to the intense events – especially when an alert is put out.

“When Environment Canada is issuing that kind of warning people need to take heed of that. And I think for the most part people do,” said Metcalfe.

The Northern Tornadoes Project said investigators will survey damage across the region and are requesting reports and images be submitted to them through their website or by tagging them on X, formerly known as Twitter.