Tornado and downbursts confirmed as damage reported in southern Ontario

Researchers have confirmed that a tornado struck part of southern Ontario as a line of storms moved through last week.

It happened in the Croton area, north of Chatham in southwestern Ontario, at around 2 a.m. on Friday.

“Damage to an outbuilding and crops was reported in the Croton area after a storm passed through,” the Northern Tornadoes Project said.

“No injuries were reported. An NTP ground and drone survey was completed on June 12, 2026, documenting the reported damage and discovering additional damage to trees.”

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Researchers said it was an EF0 tornado (on a scale of 0 to 5, with five being the strongest) with an estimated maximum wind speed of 130 km/h, a track length of 4.8 km, and a maximum path width of 150 m.

Damage from the tornado.

Two downbursts, which The Weather Network says are powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm, were also confirmed to have occurred in southwestern Ontario the same night.

Prior to the tornado occurring, at around 1:35 a.m., one of the downbursts happened in the Walpole Island area.

“Damage to a cell tower was reported in Walpole after a storm passed through the area. An NTP ground survey was completed on June 12, 2026, documenting the reported damage along with tree damage and minor roof damage in the area,” researchers said.

It was rated an EF0 microburst, with an estimated maximum wind speed of 130 km/h.

Damage was found over an area approximately 1.2 km long and up to 0.5 km wide.

Around 20 minutes later at 1:55 a.m., another downburst occurred in the Blenheim area, southeast of Chatham.

Researchers said damage to trees and minor damage to homes and fences was reported.

It was also rated an EF0 microburst, with an estimated maximum wind speed of 125 km/h.

Damage was found over an area approximately 2.2 km long and up to 0.9 km wide.

Images via the Northern Tornadoes Project