Confirmed tornado near Angus at CFB Borden: Northern Tornadoes Project

Wild weather hits Simcoe County and Muskoka Wild weather storms across Simcoe County and Muskoka.

Researchers from the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) at Western University have confirmed that a tornado touched down near Angus at CFB Borden.

“We can confirm that a tornado occurred at Canadian Forces Base Borden at Borden on June 22,” NTP posted in a release Monday.

“Initial reports on social media depicted a funnel cloud. The survey was able to find a short track of EF0 damage. We thank the Canadian Forces for allowing our team to conduct an investigation on the base.”

On Sunday, Connell Miller, an NTP research engineer said the project uses the enchanced Fujita scale to rate a tornado. It ranges from EF0 at about 90 kilometres an hour to EF5, which is more than 300 km/h.

On Sunday, Miller said, "But definitely this event, if anything, would be rated at the lower end of that scale."

On the NTP blog, Western’s tornado researchers stated, “Witness captured video of a tornado at CFB Borden, south of Angus. No damage and no injuries were reported. An NTP ground survey was completed on June 23 documenting weak tree damage and roof damage to a low-rise building. Damage assessed as EF0 tornado, with an estimated max. wind speed of 115 km/h, track length of 1.54 kms and maximum path width of 290 metres.”

Environment Canada's weather statements cautioned that as much as 80 millimetres of rain could have fallen throughout the weekend in some areas.

Barrie received 40 millimetres, Muskoka had 39.7 mms and Orillia received just over 40 mms.

In Angus, businesses reported flood levels rising to shin height in some parts of the town.

At Mona's Jerk, its owner said water damage seeped inside.

"That ceiling right there was full of water. And it all dropped to the computer, the food, everywhere was just water," said Mona Pereira, owner of Mona's Jerk.

"The internet is down, some electrical stuff is down. Everything is on the grill outside."

According to the NTP, the number of tornadoes tracked in Canada has doubled since 2017 and their proximity has shifted.

New data indicates from 1991 to 2020, Ontario had the most tornadoes per year with 18.3 on average, whereas previous data indicated that Saskatchewan was at the centre of tornadoes in Canada.

With files from Christian D’Avino