This tornado began on the far west end of Upper Rideau Lake, just east of the small town of Westport, ON. Riding the back side of an intensifying line of thunderstorms, it traveled along a wide arc-shaped course along the south edge of the lake from west-southwest to east-northeast. Extensive damage ensued.
The tornado began as a tornadic waterspout which was first spotted by a man located 1.5 km to the east of Westport. It quickly moved inland damaging a metal shed and tossing watercraft along the shoreline. One canoe was thrown about 100m.
A house located along Highway 42 about 400 metres from the shore was grazed by the twister, its attached garage being destroyed. A trailer which was parked by the house was flipped over.
Nearby in a field, the tornado left behind as many as three separate convergent paths in the long grass, indicating it likely had multiple vortices.
The Rideau Lake Golf and Country Club was next in the path of the tornado. Folks the clubhouse who saw the tornado draw closer described it as wide smoke-like funnel filled with rotating debris. As it passed to the south and spared the clubhouse, large oaks and maples lining the beautiful course were ripped out of the ground along the tornado’s 100m wide path.
East of the golf course, the tornado continued another 500 metres through a mix of bush and fields where more trees were damaged.
Approaching the lake once again, the tornado appeared as a wide, two-part funnel which was reported by a homeowner near the shore. He claimed that the tornado came directly over his house, but that the two separate parts passed on either side of his residence. This was corroborated by a damage survey which found a destroyed garage and unroofed house to the northwest and a cottage blown to bits southeast of the house.
The homeowner also watched the tornado continue over the lake for approximately two kilometres before it dissipated near the opposite shore.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (2018), an F2 tornado touched down at 4:35 pm EDT near Westport, ON and travelled for 4.59 km with a maximum width of 150 metres. The tornado caused no fatalities and injuries, but caused $500 thousand dollars in property damage.
Source
Environment and Climate Change Canada. (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/
