MINE CENTRE — A tornado with an estimated wind speed approaching 200 km/h took down a swath of trees last month in the Mine Centre area, between Atikokan and Fort Frances.
It's the only EF2 tornado reported in Ontario this year.
The Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University recently confirmed that an EF2 tornado developed at 7:10 PM EDT on July 27 near Law Lake, north of Highway 11 and west of the Turtle River Road.
Satellite imagery confirmed forest damage along a 5.5 kilometre path with a maximum width of 260 metres.
NTP calculated that the wind speed peaked at 190 km/h.
This is the first verified tornado in Northwestern Ontario this season.
David Sills, director of the Northern Tornadoes Project, told Newswatch in an email it was also one of only a small number of EF2 tornadoes across Canada so far this year.
No tornadoes have been recorded with ratings of EF3 or higher.
SIlls said tornadoes can occur in Northwestern Ontario well into the fall, and that he expects there will be more before the storm season is over.
Under the Enhanced Fujita Scale, tornadoes are rated from 0 to 5, depending on the intensity of the damage and estimated wind speed.
