Tornado warnings were in place for several areas, including southern Wellington County around 6 p.m.
Elora, Salem, Fergus and Elmira appear to have taken the brunt of the storm, with Environment Canada reporting extensive tree damage, downed power lines and outages in those communities. No injuries have been reported from the storm
“I looked up at the sky and saw the clouds swirling,” said Elora resident Rick Almeida.
“You couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you.”
It’s not yet clear if a tornado touched down in Wellington County, but a crew from the Northern Tornados Project was out Thursday surveying the damage.
In Elora, large trees, about 100 years old, were either damaged or ripped right out of the ground around a four-block radius near Water and McNab streets.
The roof of this Elora home was damaged by a falling tree. (Krista Sharpe/CTV News) Jodi Allward lives in the area. He described running to the basement after seeing the tornado warning around 5:45 p.m. “I came out of my office. I couldn’t see out of that door,” Alward said. “So I grabbed my dog and thought ‘basement time.’ Her husband Doug Clark explained how a falling tree pulled the couple’s roof off. “The wind blew over the house, and from what the neighbors said [the tree] it swerved and went down the road as you can see,” Clark said. Crews tackle the debris left behind by the storm. (Krista Sharpe/CTV Kitchener) Nearby, the Grand River Conservation Authority closed the Elora Canyon Conservation Area after several trees and branches fell, making it unsafe for the public. The conservation authority says it currently has up to 50 staff in the park helping with the cleanup. “We have a lot of trees that have hanging branches and things like that, so with the winds that are going on now, they could come down and injure people on trails or campsites,” said Ben Rosenbrugh, Elora Gorge and Quarry Supervisor. The storm knocked out power to the park and to hundreds who live in the area. “It didn’t come on until 3:30 this morning when I was woken up by a TV that I had left on,” Elora resident Billy Kyle said. Cleanup crews in Elora and Salem were forced to a temporary halt Thursday as more storms moved through the area. Work is expected to continue in the coming days. A large tree limb fell on a vehicle on McNab Street in Elora. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News) Utility poles were damaged during the storm. (Krista Sharpe/CTV News) Members of Western University’s North Tornadoes Project survey damage in Elora after Wednesday’s storm. (Dan Lauckner/CTV Kitchener) Trees downed in Elora. (Krista Sharpe/CTV News)
