Environment Canada has confirmed that a weak tornado did touch down in the Holmesville area on June 22.
Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Geoff Coulson says their investigation found that there was a rotation on radar as strong thunderstorms passed through Huron County about 9:40pm on June 22. There were no injuries reported.
The twister was an EF-Zero on the Fujita scale with peak winds between 90 and 130km an hour. The twister snapped the tops off trees, and a damaged a shed and a pick up truck.
Environment Canada officials were investigating the possibility of a tornado at around 10pm that night.
Storm chaser Dave Patrick posted images of what appeared to show a funnel cloud. .
Goderich "Tornado" Evolution - Wallcloud and tornado between Goderich/Clinton 22/06/2015 #onstorm @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/tQtXAG9u1j
— Dave Patrick (@wwxchaser) June 23, 2015
Numerous fast-moving thunderstorms prompted the national weather service to issue several tornado and thunderstorm warnings for parts of midwestern Ontario throughout that night.
Officials at Environment Canada told CKNX News they had difficulty tracking the storm due to the limited visibility of nightfall.
St. Marys-native Brock Shute says he was travelling on Highway 8 just north of Holmesville when he noticed a large, dark, rotating cloud.
“All of a sudden it took off and it spun around on top of us and it got windy just like that,” Shute tells CKNX News, “My girlfriend was driving at the time and I said to her ‘stop stop stop’, and she said she was trying to, but it [the wind] was pushing her. The windshield wipers were flapping on the windshield, I thought they were gonna get torn off.”
Shute, who plays for the Fullarton A’s of the Huron County Fastball League, was returning home from a cancelled game.
“I couldn’t tell if it actually formed into a tornado and touched down or what,” Shute said “It didn’t last very long because we were through it pretty quick. It was moving directly eastwards.”
