Tornado Strikes Near Ayr: Trees Down, Damage Reported

Tornado watches and warnings have ended in Ontario.

Environment Canada issued a warning for the Waterloo region Saturday morning. The warning became a watch until noon, and later became a warning for significant rainfall in a special weather statement.

Shortly after the warning was issued, a chimney cloud was reported in North Dumfries.

Tornado near Ayr, Ont.

A tornado was spotted near Ayr, Ontario in the area of ​​Greenfield Road and Northumberland Street around 10:50 a.m. Saturday.

A team from Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project traveled to and confirmed the air.

The storm touched down, but they are still trying to determine the class of the storm.

“In this case, there was a lot of video evidence,” said David Sills, executive director of the Northern Tornadoes Project. “You can see the clear funnel cloud with the debris swirling around. We know it’s a tornado. Now our job is to do it.” It has to be read. So how wide is it on the [Enhanced Fujita] scale?

Sales said they are still assessing the damage, but said, “Obviously it’s a big storm that came through.”

Several trees were snapped in half and drivers had to navigate the debris-strewn roads.

Greenfield Road was impassable as a large tree lay across the road and hydro lines bent to the ground.

Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) confirmed that the road between Trussler Road and Northumberland Street was closed at approximately 11:30 a.m. due to damage to hydro poles.

Resident Mary Jane Page said the storm moved quickly, and she’s thankful her home wasn’t destroyed. “We’ve seen storms go down the river many times. They seem to like the way the river goes. I don’t know why.”

WRPS public information officer Constable Melissa Quarry said the first calls started coming in shortly after the emergency alert was sent out at 10:43 a.m.

“At that point, we started getting calls from the concerned community. And the first call we received about dangerous conditions or damage was to Home Hardware in North Dumfries Township.

Assessing the damage of tornado

The Home Hardware store at the corner of Greenfield Road and Northumberland Street sustained significant damage, with portions of the roof and walls torn off the building.

Lumber could be seen flung about the parking lot shortly after the storm passed through.

Despite the damage, everyone at the store was able to make it out unscathed, Quarrie said.

“We’re really happy about it, as I’m sure are family, friends and co-workers. We got a call that the structure was damaged and the roof was partially torn off. At this point we have What is known is that there were two customers in the store at the time, as well as employees, but they all managed to get out of the building safely.

The North Dumfries Fire Department was called to the business due to the smell of natural gas.

Nearby residents are still assessing the damage, with some homeowners telling CTV News Kitchener that their trees were uprooted.

In a news release, the Township of North Dumfries said the township’s sports park, Cowen Park, suffered extensive damage in the storm. The park and North Dumfries Community Complex will be closed for the remainder of the weekend.

The township says health checks are being conducted on high-impact properties, and as of 2 p.m. On Saturday, no one was injured.

WRPS said it had received reports of train derailment in the area and several railcars overturned. He said that there is no report of hazardous material spillage and railway employees are managing the clean-up.

Dangerous behaviour

WRPS said the storm was not the only potentially dangerous situation facing area residents.

“Through our partners in the OPP, we heard reports of dangerous driving behavior on the 401 during that time in North Dumfries,” Quarrie said. “We don’t have any specific information on that, but we encourage members of the public if they are driving and a storm is approaching, you are encouraged to stop your vehicle and get out. Get out and go to a low-lying place, like a ditch, to be as safe as possible.

Cleaning up and finding support

Cleanup has begun for many people living in the area.

About 2,500 customers lost power shortly after the storm passed, and Grandbridge Energy crews are working to restore power to about 200 people who are still in the dark.

Power is out for people in the Greenfield Road West area between Trussler Road and Northumberland Street and along the Northumberland Street corridor near the Greenfield Road intersection, according to the township. He said that restoration of electricity may take some time.

They are also asking drivers to avoid the Greenfield Road area while the cleanup is underway. Traffic congestion along Northumberland Street between Alps Road and the east side of Greenfield Road is hampering emergency crews as they try to complete their work.

Meanwhile, some people are turning to the community for help after their terrifying ordeal.

Air Foodland, a grocery store, donated bottled water to cleanup crews and Greenfield Road residents affected by the storm and using the well system, the township said. .

Resident Jeff Wheeler said he and his family ran to the basement when they received the emergency alert. Now that the threat has passed, his focus is on rebuilding.

“We all stick together in the meantime. I think we all have a good community, good neighbors. We’ll help each other out for the next little while.