The fierce winds that passed through Wellington County overnight on July 2 and 3 could have been as strong as a tornado in some places according to an Environment Canada meteorologist.
That storm struck in Alma and twisted off three baseball light standards at the ball diamond, leaving teams to scramble for places to play early in the week. The storm hit even harder at Bluehaven Farms at 6089 4th Line in Centre Wellington, east of Fergus.
Marcia Stevers said in an interview on Sunday morning that when she and her husband, John, returned home late the previous evening there were two trees down on the road in front of their farm.
Inside the property, the wind picked up a shed and carried it up over 12-foot high fencing and three turkey runs that are each 25 feet wide. That shed was then deposited onto a tree on the far side of those runs. Oddly enough, Marcia Stevers said, nothing inside the shed was missing. Only her bicycle was moved, and then only a few feet.
The gust of wind also blew parts of the roof off a shed that houses goats, but left those animals unharmed, and it scattered various bits and pieces of animal housing and fencing around the farm, but did not damage the house.
The Stevers have ten acres and are pasture farmers, raising and selling pork, goat, lamb, beef, turkey, geese, ducks, chickens, pheasant and guinea fowl, as well as growing a variety of vegetable crops, including garlic. None of the gardens were damaged, but some of the animals lost some parts of some of their outbuildings.
The gust of wind was powerful enough to knock down a thick tree on the property, but it passed by a tractor and only partially removed a tarp from it. None of the animals were injured.
Marie-Eve Giguere, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said in an interview the storm was a “straight line” and it is capable of winds from zero to 60km/hour, about the size and strength of the tornados that have hit this part of the province over the years. She said it ran from Lake Huron all the way to Windsor, and into the United States.
This is the third storm incident in the past several months. A small tornado caused some damage in Fergus in April, and a few weeks ago, three major storms blew through the province, causing all kinds of damage in Wellington County, particularly to power lines and trees.
Giguere characterized the straight line storm as “a strong blast of wind followed by a heavy rain.”
She said in London, hail the size of quarters was reported, and power lines and trees were reported down in various places across the province.
Giguere said the safety practices for such a storm are the same as for a tornado. When the wind picks up, people should take shelter and stay away from windows because there is a chance the wind will shatter them.
She also explained there might not have been a typical trail of destruction as with some storms because “wind gusts are going to have different strengths.”
She added that the Grand River Conservation Authority reported wind gusts about 5km east of Fergus (close to the Stevers’ farm).
She said wind gusts become visible when they pick up dirt and form a shape.
“It could look quite impressive,” she said.
