Environment Canada confirms tornado hit east of Peterborough on Sunday

Environment Canada has confirmed a tornado touched down east of Peterborough on Sunday night as severe storms swept through southern Ontario.

Investigators from the weather agency and the Northern Tornadoes Project say the extensive damage along the Highway 7 corridor through Marmora, Madoc, and Actinolite, was due to at least one tornado and downburst winds.

“Damage has been preliminarily rated as high end EF-1 with peak wind speeds of near 175 km/h,” says Environment Canada. “There were a number of reports of wind damage and power outages.”

Investigators from the @westernuNTP and @environmentca say damage in Marmora- Madoc-Actinolite was due to at least one tornado and downburst winds. The damage has been preliminary rated as high end EF-1. Peak wind of near 175km/hr.@CityNewsOttawa @CityNewsTO

— Jill Taylor (@JillTaylorCity) July 26, 2022

The twister left a path of destruction that began at Round Lake, just north of Highway 7 near Havelock, and ended east of Actinolite, a town about 45km north of Belleville.

In its wake, the storm left damaged homes, destroyed barns, extensive tree damage, and knocked down hydro lines and poles. Several roads in the area, including Highway 7, were blocked by downed trees and power lines.

There were also reports of a flipped trailer in Rockdale that resulted in multiple injuries.

https://twitter.com/dofu_mapo/status/1551421989658804224

A small cottage resort in Actinolite was also heavily damaged, and the resort’s owner tells CityNews it was fortunate no one was on the property when the storm hit.

“We had all the bookings for the rest of the summer, so now we have to pay back all those deposits,” says Phil Slaney, owner of Bridgewater Retreat. “We had a wedding in September, I feel very sad for the couple but I’m sure they’ll understand. It’s just mind-boggling.”

Cleanup efforts in the area are ongoing.

Environment Canada says there were more than 26,000 customers who were without power as a result of the storm. Other parts of the province saw a downpour of rain and a light show in the sky through the night. At its peak, Hydro One’s outage map showed nearly 40,000 customers without power.

Investigators are continuing to gather information about Sunday’s storms.

In May, Environment Canada confirmed an EF-2 tornado touched down in Uxbridge amid another series of southern Ontario storm that left widespread damage.

A heat warning ended for Toronto and much of southern Ontario on Monday, as strong westerly winds moved in and pushed out the humidity to create dryer and cooler air.