This tornado struck the town of Wingham, and then tracked to the northeast through several rural properties on its outskirts. Residents watched as the tornado passed directly through town, describing it as a spinning whirl of debris which snapped and uprooted trees, many of which crashed down on houses and vehicles. Tree damage in town was considerable, but thankfully structural damage was minimal.
Just north of town, the tornado caused considerable damage at Harold Ker Constrction. Large planters were picked up and thrown about the yard and several vehicles had windows and windshields blow out of them. One car in the lot was spun around and moved a short distance. As the tornado hit, a woman working in the company’s office witnessed ‘branches spinning in the air’ and reportedly watched as the windows bulging in and out and furniture blew about around her.
Continuing to the east, the tornado struck a number of farms along County Road 7. At one, roofing and siding was peeled off of a barn and a cattle truck was flipped over, while another neighbouring farm suffered extensive damage and its drive shed demolished.
This was one of two tornadoes to touch down in Southern Ontario on July 1; the other was an F1 near Grand Valley.
Figure 1 depicts the surface observations at 2:00 pm, which depicts a low pressure system in Michigan with a warm front extending into southern Ontario. As this front lifted north, it became the focus for intense thunderstorms, which led to this F1 tornado.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (2018), an F1 tornado touched down at 4:10 pm EDT near Wingham, ON. The path and width of the tornado was not documented by ECCC. The tornado caused no fatalities, injuries or property damage.
Sources
NWS Weather Prediction Center Surface Analysis Archive. (2017). Surface analysis 18Z Thu Jul 1 1999. 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/
