A strong summer storm system moved through lower Michigan into Windsor-Essex and left its mark as residents kicked off their weekend. On Friday, Environment Canada issued a series of storm alerts, culminating in an Orange Thunderstorm Warning at 7:07 p.m. for Windsor-Essex looking to alert the public to powerful winds as well as heavy rain and hail. The weather agency warned conditions were favourable for the storm system to develop and bring about winds between 110 – 129 km/h. Rainfall amounts were estimated to possibly exceed 30 mm. Meteorologists tracked the line of storms from Pelee Island to Deerbrook, MI moving to the east at 65 km/h. The storm reached across Windsor-Essex, with damage and power outages being reported across the city and in Kingsville and Leamington. In Essex, organizers with the Essex Fun Fest cancelled the rest of the day’s festivities as a result of the storm damage. A tent at the event was reportedly blown over by the storm. Officials have not reported any injuries as a result of the storm. A Yellow Thunderstorm Watch was issued at 4:16 p.m. on Friday, indicating an expected moderate level of impact. The Watch was upgraded to a Yellow Thunderstorm Warning for Windsor-Essex at 6:17 p.m. before being upgraded once again to its Orange alert level just after 7 p.m. Emergency crews have been responding to calls of downed trees and power outages in the aftermath. A bystander told CTV News Windsor firefighters were out quickly to attend to a downed mature tree at the corner of Seminole St. and Drouillard Rd. that also toppled a traffic signal. Traffic was minimally disrupted. American officials issued weather alerts in Monroe and Wayne County earlier in the evening. Environment Canada says it issues severe thunderstorm warnings “when imminent or occurring thunderstorms are expected to produce damaging hail, wind or rain” and advised the public to monitor for updates. The storm continued to move east, with Environment Canada issuing a Red Tornado Warning at 7:29 p.m. for Chatham-Kent and advising residents to take cover, updating a previous Yellow Thunderstorm Watch that had been in place. The agency’s colour-coded scale ranges from yellow to red, with red representing the most severe weather and yellow the least severe. An Orange Heat Warning remains in place for both Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent.
