Environment Canada says Brampton hit by microburst
Posted May 29, 2013 6:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BRAMPTON – Environment Canada says strong winds from a downburst — not a tornado — stripped a wall off a Brampton warehouse and uprooted trees early Wednesday.
According to the agency, a downburst with winds of 90 to 100 kilometres per hour was responsible for the damage.
Environment Canada crews examined the damage in Brampton, concluding the damage was done by a microburst, leaving a damage path that was 3 kilometres long and 1.4 kilometres wide.
The agency says a downburst that produces damage in an area less than 4 kilometres in diameter is a microburst.
“The worst damage we’re aware of at this point was a wall collapse from a warehouse in the Rutherford Road South area in Brampton,” Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson said earlier Wednesday.
The agency said the damage — including uprooted trees — occurred between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. in a small area.
“Much of the damage was displaced towards the east which was the direction the storm was moving,” the agency said.
According to Environment Canada, Ontario normally has 12 tornadoes per year in a season that runs from late April to early October.
