Extensive damage, thousands without power following storm

A severe thunderstorm that ripped through the region downed a tree which fell onto a house in Harrow, Ont. on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (Taylor Choma/CTV News Windsor)

A severe thunderstorm that swept through the region brought down branches and pushed over poles, with wind gusts reaching up to 90 km/h in some areas. 

At 4:03 p.m. on Wednesday, Environment Canada meteorologists say they were tracking a severe thunderstorm that is possibly producing a tornado. Damaging winds, large hail and locally intense rainfall are also possible.

Monica Vaswani, warning preparedness meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada, said a line of thunderstorms moving west to east travelled through the region from Michigan.Along that line, as it moved through the Windsor-Essex region, some rotation was spotted on radar, which prompted the tornado warnings. The rotation is no longer present, she said. 

As the line of thunderstorms rolled through the region, with it came heavy rain and strong winds taking down a number of hydro poles and trees in its wake. 

Vaswani said Environment and Climate Change Canada does not currently know of any tornadoes that have touched down in the region, but there have been reports of very high wind gusts.

“We have seen actual reports, so Harrow did report a wind gust as high as, I believe, 91 km/h. What warrants a severe thunderstorm for winds would be 90 km/h so that is definitely in the severe category,” she said.

Thousands of residents reported power outages as a result of the storm. According to ELK Energy, Harrow was hit the hardest in the area. Even with crews working through Wednesday night, there is no estimate when power may be restored. 

Vaswani reminds residents to continue to making sure that you’re keeping an eye on the updated severe thunderstorm watches, warnings and of course possible tornado warnings. 

Dr. David Sills, executive director of the Northern Tornado Project, said in an email they are aware there is storm damage in Kingsville Blenheim and Harrow, but whether that was a downburst or a tornado that caused it needs to be looked into.

The Northern Tornadoes Project will be sending a team from London to the area Thursday morning investigate.