Campbellville, ON F0 Tornado of July 4, 2001

Halton - Peel


A century-old barn received damage to its roof, with debris thrown for over 300 metres. In addition, the tornado tossed a roadside concession stand and damaged trees. This tornado was also filmed CANWARN spotter Mark Robinson, and it was captured on security camera at Mohawk Raceway as it passed by and narrowly missed the facility.

This was one of four tornadoes to touch down during a small tornado outbreak in Southern Ontario. The others were an F0 near Ayr, an F1 near Highland Grove, and an F1 near Fenlon Falls.

Figure 1 depicts the surface observations at 2:00 pm EDT, which shows a significant low pressure over James Bay with a cold front extending into Ontario and Michigan. This front became the focus for intense thunderstorms in the afternoon hours of July 4th, which ultimately led to this F0 tornado.

Figure 1. Surface analysis at 18Z on July 4, 2001 showing mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) contours, surface observations, fronts and pressure centres (WPC, 2017)

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (2018), an F0 tornado touched down at 7:15 pm EDT near Campbellville, ON. The tornado travelled for 9 km with a maximum width of 300 metres. The tornado caused no fatalities or injuries, but caused $10 thousand dollars in property damage


Sources

NWS Weather Prediction Center Surface Analysis Archive. (2017). Surface analysis 18Z Wed Jul 4 2001. Retrieved from: https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/archives/web_pages/sfc/sfc_archive.php

Environment and Climate Change Canada Data. (2018). Canadian National Tornado Database: Verified Events (1980-2009) – Public. Retrieved from: http://donnees.ec.gc.ca/data/weather/products/canadian-national-tornado-database-verified-events-1980-2009-public/