- May 21 2022 - Fierce Derecho Storm Rips Through Ontario
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- The line of potent storms really cranked
up around Detroit and didn’t let up until around Quebec
City, that’s almost 1000 km!
This specific type of storm system, known as a derecho, are uncommon
but they do happen here in Canada, and when they do, the damage
is almost certainly going to be widespread like what we saw on
Saturday. With derechos, the swath of wind damage extends at
least 400 miles (about 650 kilometers), is at least 60 miles
(about 100 km) wide, includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph (93
km/h) along most of its length, and also includes several, well-separated
75 mph (121 km/h) or greater gusts.
A well-defined cold front crashing in from the west was the trigger
that initiated this severe weather event that affected millions
in the most densely populated part of the country. Some of the
effects of the derecho included:
Hundreds of thousands were left without power.
Countless trees downed.
A boat with about 20 people on it was capsized in Lake Ontario.
Unfortunately several fatalities have been reported so far due
to falling trees.
Toronto recorded its strongest ever May wind gust at Pearson
Airport (120 km/h).
Kitchener/Waterloo recorded a wind gust of 131 km/h.
The storm triggered a tornado warning in Quebec.
Some of the heaviest damage was in Uxbridge, Ontario where investigators
will be sent out to determine if it was caused by straight-line
winds or a tornado.
The winds produced by these derechos can be so intense that they
are often mistaken for a tornado crashing through, however, sometimes
there are areas of embedded rotation within the line of storms
that can indeed produce tornadoes that are wrapped un in the
rain and hail, making them nearly impossible to see.
This was an historic event for Ontario that many will never forget.
There were ample warnings in place issued by Environment Canada,
but with such a widespread, damaging event happening on a long
weekend, it was inevitable that there was going to be significant
impacts.
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