Vicious tornado leaves forest decimated, islands deforested & cottages destroyed
This was the first of several tornadoes that touched down in the middle of the night during a fierce derecho that swept across Central Ontario. It had a path that was up to 700m wide and 9.2km long, striking at 2:30am. Cottagers reportedly described hearing a ‘whooshing sound’ and ‘niagara falls and a freight train combined’ as the tornado tore through.
Dozens of acres of forest were devastated as the tornado tossed trees and branches out into Kennisis Lake. Two large islands were almost entirely deforested, losing over 80% of their trees. In addition, a number of cottages were destroyed, one of which was reported to have looked as though it had exploded. Most of this damage was likely the result of falling trees that smashed through roofs and tore cottages from their foundations as they were uprooted.
This was one of four tornadoes that touched down in Cottage Country as a violent derecho swept across Central Ontario. The others:
