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A downburst was the cause of a swath of damage in Owen Sound on Thursday, a group of experts that studies extreme weather has concluded.
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The Northern Tornadoes Project confirmed through an investigation that the downburst – powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm and spread out quickly once they hit the ground – with wind speeds that likely reached 155 km/h damaged trees, power poles, light standards and roof shingles in the city just before 7 p.m.
From their damage assessment, the NTP rated the downburst as an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale. The scale ranks high wind events along six intensity categories from zero to five, representing increasing degrees of damage.
Tree damage, shingle loss and leaning power poles were reported in the city after the storm passed through the area at approximately 6:45 p.m. No injuries were reported, the NTP said in its assessment.
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The organization, which was founded by Western University and aims to detect, study and document all tornadoes in Canada, completed a ground and drone survey on Friday.
NTP said the damage from the downburst extended along a 4.3-kilometre path with a maximum width of 1.4 km. Many of the downed trees and debris were toward the east/east northeast of the city.
Witnesses said the winds lasted two to 10 minutes and were accompanied by heavy rain and some hail, NTP said.
Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm warning for much of Grey County and the Bruce Peninsula Friday evening while tracking a storm capable of producing up to 100km/h wind gusts.
Shortly before the downburst hit Owen Sound, Environment Canada warned of potential water spouts forming on Georgian Bay due to the storm activity and issued a tornado warning for the area.
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