Southwestern Ontario is a hot spot for tornado activity in Canada, Environment Canada meteorologist Peter Kimbell told the Star for a piece published on June 17, marking the 70th anniversary of a deadly twister that ripped through Windsor in 1946, killing 17 people.
“The Canadian version of Tornado Alley is probably in Southwestern Ontario between Windsor and Barrie,” he said, “the most frequent tornado activity would be in that corridor.”
Although the real Tornado Alley is in the United States, where more than 1,200 tornados occur each year, Southwestern Ontario and the southern prairies have the highest levels of tornado activity in Canada, said Kimbell.
High levels of humidity in Windsor and Essex County and close proximity to the Great Lakes create the right conditions for tornado activity. In Ontario, 12 to 13 tornadoes occur per year, the majority in the southwestern part of the province. Kimbell said that number is undoubtedly higher.
“It also comes down to geography, the farther south you go, the closer you are to the peak of tornado activity, which is in the United States,” said Kimbell.
Kimbell said that although Southwestern Ontario is a hot spot, tornadoes are not a common occurrence.
June 17, 1946: A tornado rips through the Windsor area on June 17, 1946.
This photo taken at Windsor Airport shows the funnel making its way through the area on June 17, 1946.
A car sits among the rubble after a tornado ripped through the Windsor area on June 17, 1946.
The home of Robert Craig on Randolph Street was damaged in the June 17, 1946 tornado.
The home of Charles Potvin was destroyed in the June 17, 1946 tornado that struck the Windsor area.
June 19, 1946: This photo shows what’s left of a new car that was lifted 50 feet in the air, carried across Seven Mile Road and dropped in a ditch by a tornado that ripped through the Windsor area on June 17, 1946.
