Research team finds tornado near Perth had 150 km/h winds

A Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) survey has determined the tornado that touched down near Perth, Ont., last week was a class EF1, with wind speeds to a maximum of 150 kilometres per hour, according to executive director David Sills. 

Researchers visited Perth over the weekend to classify the tornado that landed nearby and assess the damage it caused. They conducted a drone survey, heard first-hand accounts, and watched video footage taken by the public.

Sills said the classification of EF1 was a culmination of all that information. Tornadoes are classified by their wind speeds, from EF0 to EF5. EF1 is the second-weakest type, but it can still cause substantial damage.

"An EF1 tornado is typically enough to damage the structure of a roof, or take down a group of trees, or take the roof off a barn and send it flying," Sills said.

In this case, the ground team found that the worst damage was to a single property where three barns and a shop were ripped apart.

The tornado's full path was about 600 metres wide and almost 40 kilometres long, causing damage all along that strip, Sills said.

A growing trend

Sills said data like the kind his team gathered near Perth is essential to track trends and understand how factors like climate change impact weather.

In this case, the tornado near Perth fits into a larger regional trend the NTP has been following since its founding.

"One thing that we've noticed since we started the Northern Tornadoes Project back in 2017 is there are a lot more tornadoes happening in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec than we anticipated," Sills said. 

They expected the "maximum activity" to be in southern Saskatchewan.

Out of Canada's 61 tornadoes in 2024, 10 have been in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec.

Sills said he doesn't know if this trend of increased tornado activity will last, but that their team is trying to find out.