Avonmore, ON F0 Tornado of July 15, 1996

Cornwall - Morrisburg


Weak tornado touched down at around 5:30 pm. It cracked the foundation of a house, uprooted and snapped trees and power poles, scattered yard furniture and tossed a trampoline.

Figure 1 depicts the surface map at 2:00 pm EDT, which depicts a low pressure over Lake Ontario with a warm front extending east. A trough of low pressure is also observed across the area. The convergence across eastern Ontario caused thunderstorms to develop and ultimately this weak tornado.

Figure 1. Surface analysis at 18Z on July 15, 1996 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 5:30 pm EDT near Avonmore, ON. The path and width of the tornado was not documented by ECCC. The tornado caused no fatalities and no injuries, but caused $50 thousand dollars in property damage.


Sources

NWS Weather Prediction Center Surface Analysis Archive. (2017). Surface analysis 00Z Fri Jul 14 1995. 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/