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Thursday could shape up to be “the most widespread severe weather day” in southwestern Ontario so far this season, according to Global News chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell.
A system coming in from the western Great Lakes is “packing a bit of a punch” and all of the ingredients are in place for heavy rain, big lightning, damaging winds, large hail and potentially even tornadoes.
While the situation is dynamic and subject to change as the system develops, Farnell expects the Windsor, Sarnia, London, Stratford and Goderich areas to be hardest hit. Some large storms are also possible in the GTA around dinnertime, he adds.
“You’re not sure until the last minute what’s going to happen or where the worst will be. But I know there are a lot of local storm chasers that are going to be out there trying to capture some tornadoes,” Farnell said.
“And for everybody else, we’ve just got to heed any warnings that come out from Environment Canada.”
As of 10:30 a.m. Thursday, severe thunderstorm watches were in place from Windsor to Orillia, though Toronto was not impacted.
The national weather agency says impacted regions could see winds gusting to 100 km/h, toonie-sized hail, 30 to 50 millimetres of rainfall and the risk of a tornado Thursday afternoon into the evening.
Last week, more than 100 homes were damaged when a tornado touched down in a suburb of Ottawa.
Ontario’s first recorded tornado of the season was in Talbotville, a village south of London, on June 13 — an unusually late start to the season.
The Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) says tornadoes in Ontario usually begin in May, sometimes even April or March.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.