Tornado touched down in Haldimand, Norfolk counties on Wednesday: officials

Officials with Environment and Climate Change Canada have confirmed what residents in Haldimand and Norfolk counties likely suspected: a tornado did indeed touch down on Wednesday afternoon during a bout of severe thunderstorms.

In addition, they’ve also confirmed a second less-severe tornado touched down near Norwich, Ont. in Oxford County on the same day.

The national weather agency sent out a survey team to assess damage from the first tornado in the towns of Jarvis and Waterford, near Lake Erie.

The damage included numerous uprooted and sheared-apart trees, several destroyed barns, a snapped flagpole, branches embedded into the roof of one house, and damaged shingles on multiple buildings. The damage followed a 32-kilometre path that reached as wide as 500 metres.

The team initially concluded the damage was the result of an enhanced Fujita scale 1 (EF-1) tornado with peak winds of 160 kilometres per hour. On Friday, the agency announced they had upgraded the rating to EF-2, saying the tornado had peak winds of 180 kilometres per hour.

READ MORE: There are signs a tornado hit Norfolk County during Wednesday’s stormy weather: Environment Canada

The second tornado, confirmed by Environment and Climate Change Canada based on video evidence, occurred near Norwich around 3 p.m. Wednesday and caused minimal damage, the agency said. It was classified as an EF-0 rated tornado.