Late-season EF2 tornado in Northern Ontario

An NTP satellite imagery analysis has identified a late-season EF2 tornado in Northern Ontario southeast of Pickle Lake. This tornado damage from September 20th appears to be accompanied by substantial downburst damage in places along the tornado track, and will require further investigation with higher-resolution imagery for a final assessment. The parent thunderstorm was likely a supercell given the environment but the tornado occurred outside of radar range so confirmation is not possible.

The detailed preliminary event summary information is provided below.

Event Name: Woodstock Lake, ON
Date: September 20, 2022 
Start Time: 6:40 PM EDT (2240 UTC)
Final Classification: Tornado (Over Land)
Preliminary EF-Scale Rating: EF2
EF-Scale Damage Indicator / Degree of Damage: C-T/DOD-6
Start of damage track: 51.2761N, 89.3228W
End of damage of track: 51.2275N, 88.7242W
Location of worst damage: 51.2731N, 89.2889W
Description: Satellite imagery review of a storm track of interest revealed a tornado damage path through forested areas. Preliminary damage assessment is EF2 tornado, with an estimated max. wind speed of 190 km/h, track length of 42.4 km and max. path width of 450 m. Tornado motion was from the W (approx. 275 degrees). There is evidence of concurrent downburst damage along the tornado track and an aircraft survey is pending to collect aerial imagery for review. Start time is estimated based on GOES-16 visible imagery.

 

20Sep2022_WoodstockLakeEF2_Sat.png
Planet Explorer satellite image showing the start of the preliminary tornado track (outlined in yellow) as well as associated downburst damage (outlined in red). At least 80% of the trees were down along parts of the tornado track.

 

20Sep2022_WoodstockLakeEF2_SCP.jpg
US SPC Mesoanalysis showing the Supercell Composite Parameter reaching up to 6 at 2300 UTC in the area of Northern Ontario where the tornado developed.

 

20Sep2022_WoodstockLakeEF2_STP.jpg
US SPC Mesoanalysis showing the Significant Tornado Parameter reaching past 2 at 2300 UTC in the area of Northern Ontario where the tornado developed.