Damage reported south of city
It's unlikely but `not impossible' that it was a twister, Environment Canada says
A punishing line of thunderstorms rocked the Ottawa area on Tuesday afternoon, bringing high winds and heavy rain to the capital while splattering debris onto roadways and downing a power line in Kemptville.
Peter Kimbell of Environment Canada said it was unlikely that a tornado touched down south of Ottawa, but it was still a serious storm — likely a squall line — that caused damage comparable to that of a small tornado.
The worst-hit area in the storm was “definitely” the Canfield to Winchester area, Kimbell said, with reports from that area of trees being toppled and debris clogging roadways.
“It is not impossible that there was a tornado . ... Sometimes there are smaller tornadic events that occur. It just did not bear the radar signature of the other tornado,” Kimbell said, adding that officials would have to wait to make the determination until after the conclusion of an investigation by the Northern Tornado Project.
At around 5:30 p.m., Kimbell said, the storm was over the Ontario-Quebec border and moving eastward.
In the Winchester and Kemptville areas, close to 1,000 people remained without power into Tuesday evening, Hydro One said. Dozens more were also without power west of Ottawa as crews responded to storm damage.
The Grenville detachment of the OPP received calls about downed trees and debris on roads in Kemptville, Const. Dave Holmes said. Officers closed a road in that community because of a downed power line.
There were also reports of hail in communities south of Ottawa.