Petawawa, ON F0 of August 2, 1988

Renfrew - Pembroke - Barry's Bay


This tornado was observed by area residents as it touched down outside of Petawawa at around 8:45 pm. Witnesses described seeing a funnel cloud touching the ground, but no damage was reported. Figure 1 depicts the surface features at 5:00 pm EDT showing a stationary front north of Petawawa. This frontal boundary would become the focus for thunderstorms a few hours later.

Figure 1. Surface analysis at 21Z on August 2, 1988 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 8:54 pm EDT near Petawawa, ON. The track and width of the tornado was not documented by ECCC. The tornado caused no injuries, fatalities or property damage.


Source

NWS Weather Prediction Center Surface Analysis Archive. (2017). Surface analysis 21Z Tue Aug 2 1988. 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/