A total of five tornadoes touched down in southern Ontario on the same day one of caused major damage to a portion of Barrie’s south end.
According to survey teams from Western University’s The Northern Tornadoes Project, all five twisters had a preliminary rating of EF-2, which has sustained wind speeds between 180 and 210 km/h.
Barrie was the hardest hit, with over 70 homes still uninhabitable and 11 people suffered minor injuries.
Premier Doug Ford has promised residents the government will cover all costs that insurance companies don’t as they begin to rebuild.
The NTP researchers say the other twisters were located north of Zephyr, near Dwight, west of Lorneville and the northeast quadrant of Algonquin Park starting southwest of Lake Traverse.
Meanwhile, the damage left near Tasso Lake is believed to be the result of a downburst.
NTP damage surveys have documented 5 different tornadoes generated by the storms of July 15th in southern Ontario, all of them having maximum wind speeds in the EF2 range. See details below. #ONStorm (1/2) pic.twitter.com/crZe0ZuoF3
— Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 (@westernuNTP) July 18, 2021
High-resolution drone and satellite images still need to be fully analyzed by NTP and could result in a few minor changes to the details of the July 15th tornadoes. Additional tornadoes may also be found. #ONStorm (2/2) pic.twitter.com/Qolgyi8WD2
— Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 (@westernuNTP) July 18, 2021
NTP damage surveys have also documented 7 tornado and downburst events in ON and QC associated with the storms of July 13th. See details below. #ONStorm #MeteoQC (1/2) pic.twitter.com/5XXYL3Qp6a
— Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 (@westernuNTP) July 18, 2021