The storm which caused significant damage in south-Barrie Thursday afternoon was likely a tornado, says Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“It was definitely showing signs of rotation on radar and we’ve seen multiple images of damage in the Barrie area. So there’s convincing evidence that it’s a likely tornado, but at this time we can’t really confirm it,” said Steven Flisfeder, warning preparedness meteorologist, at about 4 p.m. Thursday.
“There will be a damage survey done. The Northern Tornados Project is on their way to start the investigation…then we will have all the details to confirm or re-classify the storm as necessary,” he said.
“Based on the damage and the amount of damage, they would be able to determine the wind speeds associated.”
It is critically important to stay clear of the damaged area, for your safety and those responders who are working together to help those impacted today. #Paramedics, #Police, #Fire, and #utilities are working to secure the scene. #Barrie #Tornado pic.twitter.com/XNvacGD9TC
— COSParamedic Service (@simcoecountyPS) July 15, 2021
The damage is still being assessed by emergency crews.
“It’s bad. There’s a lot of damage,” said Peter Leon, corporate communications co-ordinator with Barrie city police. “We’ve got some confirmed houses that have lost rooftops, some that are definitely going to be uninhabitable as a result of this. There’s a lot of damage in the Mapleview and Prince William Way area.
“There have been some injuries. I’m not sure exactly the severity. There are people going door-to door to try to determine if there’s anybody trapped,” Leon said. “There’s a lot of debris on the roadways, trees down and obviously building materials from the homes have been damaged as a result.”
Flisfeder said the condition were ripe for this storm.
“It was a very warm and humid day out, and what that does is really give fuel to any kind of storm that forms and then ahead of a cold front, which acted as the trigger for the storm to create a lot of rotation and upward motion in the storm, and that’s what led to the damage being done,” he said. “This was a pretty good setup for a storm of this nature.
“Tornados can form in several different ways, but this looked like to be what we call a super-cell tornado which are the storms that produce the most significant tornados,” said Flisfeder.
Leon said police have gained access to St. Gabriel’s School and it’s been opened it up for residents in the area, to seek shelter. Police have established a command post at the back of the school. There are also a significant number of OPP units on scene, assisting with traffic, along with Simcoe County paramedics, York EMS and Barrie firefighters.
