Still shot of damage toa house at the Zehr Family Farm from Saturday's tornado in Township of Chatsworth. (image supplied by Tim Chambers)
A survey team on the ground in the Township of Chatsworth and Walter’s Falls area to assess damage says the tornado that touched down on Saturday afternoon can be rated at least a high-end EF1.
The Northern Tornadoes Project, a group found in 2017 by Western University and ImpactWX that aims to detect and document all tornadoes in Canada, sent a ground and drone survey team to assess the scene on Sunday.
In a social media post, the Northern Tornadoes Project says the team spent most of the day tracking down damage from the Chatsworth tornado. It says the length of the twister was around 13.5 kilometres while the width was about 400 metres.
EF1 tornadoes have wind speeds between 138-177 km/h, and cause moderate damage such as roofs being stripped, mobile homes overturned and windows or glass broken.
The twister destroyed a barn and a vehicle, and heavily damaged the house of Brandon and Roxie Zehr as it passed through their farm. Tree debris also littered several roads in the Township of Chatsworth. A section of Massie Road near Concession 8 was completely impassable on Saturday evening.
Township of Chatsworth firefighters and others worked promptly to try and clear the debris.
There have not been any reports of injuries at this time.
David Rogers with Environment Canada confirmed a tornado touched down in the Chatsworth area around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.
