'Weak' twister, downburst hit Chatham-Kent in early August storms
Investigators say wind speeds were as high as 125 km/h
Storms in early August that swept across southwestern Ontario resulted in "weak" downbursts and tornadoes, according to storm trackers.
Investigators with Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project say drone surveillance indicates a downburst happened in the New Scotland area of Chatham-Kent, near Rondeau Provincial Park, around 1:15 p.m. ET on Aug. 5.
Tree and roof damage to a barn was reported after the storm ripped through — with no injuries.
It's estimated the damage path was over an area 0.6 km long and 3.9 km wide, with an estimated wind speed of 125 km/h.
'I knew something bad was happening'
The barn's owner, Tom Hebblethwaite, said it was just after lunch when the winds picked up speed and it started to rain heavily.
He said the "severe wind" ripped off half of the barn roof and threw it about 60 metres through the air, over some equipment, before it landed in trees along Kent Bridge Road.
"I was about 50 feet away in another barn watching all this unfold," Hebblethwaite told CBC Windsor on Monday.
"It sounded very scary. I knew something bad was happening, but I didn't know what, so luckily it only lasted for maybe a minute or two."
Hebblethwaite said it was the first time he experienced something like this.
Cathy Stirling is also from the New Scotland area.
She says the storm was "very intense" and pushed her and her dog into the basement when it hit.
"We thought maybe it was a tornado. I didn't know what it was — I just knew it was a lot of wind."
According to Stirling, their property had a fair bit of damage to trees, but they didn't lose any completely.
"My husband was out in the barn and he heard the crack of one of the trees going down."
She says she wasn't surprised it ended up being determined as a downburst by storm trackers.
"That makes sense because nothing was twisted."
Roughly an hour later, another weak downburst touched down near Aylmer.
Then, less than 24 hours later, on Aug. 6, a low-end EF0 tornado was tracked near Muirkirk in Chatham-Kent — and a second one in nearby Elgin County at New Glasgow.
Investigators say the low-scale twister touched the ground around noon and created some tree damage in the area. No one was hurt.
The tornado was believed to have had a maximum wind speed of 115 km/h.