List of Canadian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks (before 2001)

This page lists all of the tornadoes to hit Canada in the past 120 years (1886-2006).

Before 1880

1792

• June 30. The first recorded tornado in Canadian history affected the Niagara Peninsula between Fonthill, Ontario and Fort Robinson.

1829

• A tornado hit Guelph, destroying buildings and leaving the town inactive for the next 3 years.

1844

• August 7. A tornado at Galt, Ontario (Now part of the City of Camebridge) destroyed barns and fences, uprooted trees and killed one person, Canada's earliest recorded tornado death.

1845

• September 20. A tornado outbreak felled thousands of trees in Ontario and Quebec and produced a tornado which tracked for 443 kms across Lakes Ontario and Champlain.

1855

• April 18. An area between Collingwood and Niagara-on-the-Lake in southern Ontario was affected by tornadoes, one of which lifted a saloon up into the air.

1860

• May 19. Homes, fences and trees were demolished by a 500m wide tornado near Aurora, ON. Hailstones up to 8cm in diameter also fell.

1879

• Buctouche, New Brunswick Tornado, August 6. (7 dead, 25 families homeless, easternmost MAJOR tornado in North America)

1880s

1880

• June 10. A 200m wide tornado touches down at Listowel, Ontario lifting a man up into the air. He grabs on to a bridge to save himself.

1884

• Elora, Ontario Tornado, May 15. Suspected F4. A tornado half a kilometre wide destroyed barns, fences and stables at Elora, Ontario, and damaged a church and cemetery in Goldstone, Ontario.

1885

• June 7. Houses and orchards at Parkhill, Ontario and St. Thomas, Ontario were damaged when a tornado touched down and hail up to 10cm in diameter fell.

1888

• Southern Quebec Tornado, June 6. A tornado affected an area between Montreal, Quebec and Cornwall, Ontario killing 3 and destroying 500 farms, barns and outbuildings.
• Lancaster, Ontario - Saint-Zotique, Quebec Tornado, Lancaster, Ontario - Saint-Zotique, Quebec - Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, August 16, 1888. Extensive property damage, 9 dead, 16 injured.

1890s

1892

• Sainte-Rose, Quebec Tornado, June 14. Six dead, 26 injured.
• June 29. A tornado in London, Ontario destroyed barns and orchards.
• September 26. A tornado at Merriton, Ontario near St. Catherines, Ontario kills 4 or 5 and injures dozens of other people.

1910s

1912

• Regina Cyclone, F4, Regina, Saskatchewan, June 30. See Article for in-depth information

1920s

1922

• Portage La Prairie, Manitoba Tornado Outbreak, June 22-23. Five dead, multiple tornadoes touched down.
• June 18. A tornado picked up a house in Elfros, SK killing one person. The tornado cut an 11km path of damage.
• July 21. A tornado affecting Crystal Springs, Saskatchewan lifted a house and dropped it a field a little way away.

1926

• July 12. Tornadoes are rare in British Columbia but nevertheless they do occur from time to time. On this day in 1926, a tornado at Lac La Hache, British Columbia destroyed farm buildings and felled trees.

1930s

• St. John, Quebec Tornado, June 11. A tornado touching down at St John, Quebec topples trees and rips of roofs.

1940s

1946

• Windsor - Tecumseh, Ontario Tornado of 1946 (F4), Windsor, Ontario and Tecumseh, Ontario (See Article for in-depth information)
• Fort Frances, Ontario Tornado (F3), International Falls, Minnesota - Fort Frances, Ontario - Rainy River, Ontario

1949

• July 19. The small village of Cheneville, Quebec was devastated by a tornado which lasted about 3 minutes.

1950s

1950

• Regina Tornado of 1950 (November)
• Rycroft, Alberta Tornado. A tornado cut an 80km path from Rycroft, Alberta to Eaglesham, Alberta damaging crops, farm machinery and farm buildings.

1953

• Sarnia, Ontario Tornado of 1953 (seven dead, 40 injured, and 500 left homeless)
• 5 were killed and 41 injured when a series of tornadoes affected south-western Ontario. 29

1954

• White Point Beach, NS Tornado, January 30. A great deal of hail and lightning along the coast, touched down near Liverpool, Nova Scotia

1955

• Nanaimo, British Columbia Tornado, April 25. A tornado near Nanaimo, BC caused minor damages.

1958

• Watrous, Saskatchewan Tornado, April 16. A tornado at Watrous, Saskatchewan destroying a large barn and scattering pigs up to 5km from the barn.
• Hensall, Ontario Tornado, A tornado tracking between Hensall and Dublin in Ontario killed one person.
• Amaranth, Manitoba Tornado, May of 1958.

1959 Southern Manitoba Tornado, June 6. A tornado destrpyed a garage in La Salle, Manitoba, yet the car inside the garage wasn't damaged. The tornado could be seen 15km away in Winnipeg.

1960s

1962

• July 1. A small tornado is observed near Vancouver. The weather office here opened in 1929 and at that time this was the third tornado they'd seen here.

1966

• Uclulet, British Columbia Tornado A tornado affected Ucluelet, British Columbia. Unknown but significant damages.

1967 Huron - Perth Tornado (Southern Ontario, $1 million dollars damage) 1968

• Watson, Saskatchewan Tornado A tornado hit Watson, SK destroying a car shed amongst other things.

1970s

1970

• Sudbury, Ontario Tornado, August 20, 1970 - 6 dead, 200 injured.

1974

• Super Outbreak (F3), Windsor, Ontario, April 3, 1974. 9 dead, 30 injured, $500,000 in damages. See article for in-depth information.

1975===

• Saint Bonaventure, Quebec Tornado, Saint Bonaventure, Quebec; 40 injured, 300 homeless, $2.5 to $3 million in damages.

1978

• Yellowknife Tornado. A tornado touches down near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories toppling a tower and destroying a transmission tower at Rae-Edzo. It's the third tornado in 16 years here.

1979

• Woodstock, Ontario Tornado of August 1979 (2-F4's), Burgessville, Ontario - Woodstock, Ontario, August 7, 1979. Killeed 3 and injured 150.

1980s

1980

• Altona, Alberta Tornado, April 6. A minor tornado touches down near Altona, Alberta.

1982 Montreal - Sainte-Rose Tornado, Near Montréal, Quebec (Sainte-Rose), Quebec; five fatalities, 26 injured, and extensive damage; hundreds of homes and barns flattened 1983

• Reeces Corners Tornado, Reeces Corners, Ontario. Millions of dollars in damages.

1984

• Southwest Ontario Tornado Outbreak of 1982/London, Ontario Tornado, September 2. Tornadoes touch down all over southwest ontario, from Windsor to London, injuring 30.

1985

• US-Canadian Outbreak (F4), Barrie, Ontario, May 31. Travelled from Hopeville, Ontario to Barrie. 12 killed, hundreds injured; 800 homeless, more than 100 buildings were damaged at a cost of over $100 million, destruction of 300 houses. Other tornadoes also struck Grand Valley, Orangeville and Tottenham. See article for in-depth information.
• Mississagua Tornado, June 5. A tornado in Mississauga, ON injured 10 and caused $400,000 damage.

1986

• Lampman, Saskatchewan Tornado, May 6. Minor tornado touches down near Lampman, Saskatchewan.
• Northern Saskatchewan Tornadoes, June 1. Three tornadoes touched down in Saskatoon. Roofs and windows in the area were damaged by high winds and hailstones.

1987

• Winnepeg, Manitoba Tornado, Winnipeg, Manitoba; a thunderstorm caused at least two tornadoes in Winnipeg; strong winds and 40 millimetres of rain in two and a half hours caused flash flooding and resulted in considerable property damage.
• Edmonton Tornado, July 31. Strong F4, possibly F5, along with a few other weaker tornadoes. Edmonton, Alberta and surrounding areas. 27 dead, 253 injured. See article for in-depth information.
• Montreal Tornado of 1987, Montréal, Quebec; a tornado caused by a severe thunderstorm dropped 100 millimetres of rain in an hour which resulted in severe flooding across the city; the storm also caused intense winds which uprooted large trees and toppled hydro lines.

1988

• Vancouver Tornado, May 1. Weak tornado grazes eastern Metro Vancouver.
• Medicine Hat, Saskatchewan Tornado, Medicine Hat, Alberta; tornado caused an estimated $50 million in damage.

1989

• Saskatchewan Tornado Outbreak of 1989, June 19. Eight tornadoes touched down over central Saskatchewan. Winds gusted up to 130km/h and hail shredded crops at Blaine Lake.
• New Brunswick Tornado Outbreak, August 14. Three tornadoes touch down in New Brunswick. One of the tornadoes affects Carlisle where trees are uprooted and a barn is destroyed, but amazingly 22 out of 24 glass storm windows stored inside are left undamaged.

1990s

1990

• Southern Ontario Tornado Outbreak of 1990, Southern Ontario; tornadoes, high winds and thunderstorms caused crop damage and the destruction of several buildings in the communities of Lobo, Komoka, Frome, Port Stanley and Kendall; six minor injuries were reported.

1991

• Sarnia, Ontario Tornado of 1991, Sarnia, Ontario; tornado caused an estimated $25 million in damage.
• Mauricie Tornado of 1991, August 21. St. Lawrence River, Quebec; the tornado affected the village of Maskinongé; the tornado crossed the St. Lawrence River and touched down in Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville where a few summer cottages were destroyed and some minor injuries occurred; it also touched down in Saint-Wenceslas where minor damage was reported; there were no deaths, 15 people injured, only one seriously; 60% of all buildings in the village of Maskinonge, Quebec were damaged, the power lines were down and telephone service stopped; no drinking water was available; estimated $13 million in damage, leaving 100 homeless. Occured in the Maskinongé Regional County Municipality, Quebec of the Mauricie Region.
• Prince George, British Columbia Tornado, July 2. Prince George, BC was affected by a severe thunderstorm which dumped 15.4mm rain in 25 minutes on the airport. Downtown hail fell, there was flooding and at Clucluz Lake a tornado uprooted trees.

1992

• June 24. Tornadoes, large hail and torrential downpours affected southern Manitoba. Tennis ball sized hail fell near Morden and winds gusting to 154km/h were recorded at Pilot Mound. There were also five confirmed tornado touchdowns and numerous funnel clouds. The region had been affected by severe weather the day before as well.

1994

• Aylmer, Quebec Tornado, August 4. A tornado at Aylmer, Quebec near Ottawa, Ontario injured 15 people. The tornado path was 8km long and up to 2300m wide.

1995

• June 20. Thunderstorms rumbled for 7 hours over Mantioba producing 90 km/h winds which blew trees and power lines over. The storm even produced a weak tornado.
• Fredericton, New Brunswick Tornado, July 26. A tornado in Fredericton, New Brunswick took the roof off a government building and damaged a tennis court dome.
• August 14. A tornado touches down near Barrie, Ontario.
• August 29. Several farms were destroted when a tornado lasting a couple of minutes affected Spring Valley, near Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan.

1996

• Southern Ontario Tornadoes of 1996, Grey, Wellington and Dufferin counties, Ontario, on April 20, 1996. Two F3 class tornadoes touched down in Grey County (Holland Centre), Wellington County and Dufferin County. Significant property damage occurred; nine people were injured by the two tornadoes.

1997

• Southeast Michigan Tornado Outbreak (F1, F2, F3) Windsor, Ontario and surrounding areas

1999 & Hull, Quebec of 1999, May 8. A tornado over Hull, Quebec caused $2M damage and tore roofs off buildings.

• Saskatoon Tornadoes of 1999, May 22. Three tornadoes touch down close to the western limits of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
• Estrie Region Tornado, July 7. A tornado left 4,000 without power and 200 in need of temporary shelter in Bertheirville, Yamaska and Drummondville (all in Quebec).
• Burlington, Ontario Tornado, August 4. A tornado strikes Burlington, Ontario, causing damage, and relocating a motorhome 2 kilometers from where it was parked.

2000s

2000

• Pine Lake, Alberta Tornado (F4) Pine Lake, Alberta (Near Red Deer, Alberta), July 14. See Article for in-depth information.
• Tornado, July 17. An F2 tornado in Guelph, Ontario caused around $2M damage and destroyed roofs, trees and fences. The same storm then produced a second tornado in Waterdown, Ontario.
• Viking, Alberta Tornado. August 1. Egg-sized hail and a tornado strike Viking, Alberta.
• August 6. What about this for a horrible coincidence; the campsite at Pine Lake, Alberta which was affected by a killer tornado on 14th July 2000 had another tornado just as people were gathering for a memorial service for those who died just a few weeks earlier.

2001

• Saguenay Tornado, June 19. Alma in the Lac St Jean, Quebec was struck by a weak tornado which lasted about half a minute and destroyed two houses, a barn and a garage as well as uprooting trees and damaging roofs. A second funnel cloud affected the same region just 3 weeks later.
• July 4. Quebec and southeastern Ontario had some severe weather. There was heavy rain, strong winds and 2cm hail. Tornadoes touched down in Ayr, Argyle, Campbellville and Fenelon Falls (all in Ontario).

2002

• North Bay, Ontario Tornadoes May 31. North Bay, Ontario is struck by two weak tornadoes.
• June 23, A weak tornado touched down at Fallowfield, Ontario.
• July 28, Severe thunderstorms over northern Ontario produced a tornado over Halfway Lake Provincial Park (70km north of Sudbury) where 800 people were camping at the time and up to 150mm rain falls in just 3 hours at Stratford and Travistock in Ontario.

2005

• Southern Ontario Tornado Outbreak of 2005, August 19. Numerous tornadoes touch down, damaging homes in Kitchener, Ontario, Guelph, Ontario, and an unusual tornado touching down inside the Toronto, Ontario limits. The storms cause extensive damage in a path from Stratford, Ontario (20 km west of Kitchener), to Peterborough, Ontario, and along the Georgian Bay near Collingwood. One storm (the Fergus, Ontario Tornado just to the north of Fergus, Ontario) was particularly damaging, tearing apart farms and overturning automobiles.

External Links

• Extreme Weather at the CBC.ca Archives
• Environment Canada's information page on Tornadoes
• Canadian Atlas of strong tornadoes
• List of strong tornadoes from 1879 to present
• Dan, Dan, The Weather Man's webpage of Canadian Weather Events