Weekend tornado in Deep River, Ont., confirmed

Experts have confirmed a tornado touched down in Deep River, Ont., on the weekend, uprooting trees, causing minor structural damageand even flipping a boat as it blew through town.

"This was kind of a minor tornado, but still a tornado," said David Sills, executive director of Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project.

The project's storm survey team was dispatched to the community150 kilometres northwest of downtown Ottawato confirm reports circulating on social media.

Sills said the tornado developed around 2:45 p.m. Sunday andcarved a path of about one kilometre,with a maximumwidth of about 130 metres.

Sills said the team found evidence of wind speeds reaching115 km/h, within the lowest range ofthe Enhanced Fujita scale, which isused to measure wind damage.The scale goes to five.

"There's only been one fivein Canada and that was in Elie, Man., in 2007, and a house an entire house flew through the air," Sills said.

Early start to tornado season

While low on the scale, storms like the one in Deep River can still cause injuries and shouldn't be taken lightly, Sills said.

Deep River Mayor Sue D'eon said municipalities like hers have been dealing with more intense weather in recent years including scorching heat, record-breaking rain and wind events like this one.

"It's becoming more challenging, I think, for municipalities to adapt," she said.

D'eon confirmed the storm caused some damage near the town's community centre and flipped a houseboat at the lakeshore. A tree also fell on a car, she said.

Sills said tornadoseason has started early in Canada this year, andthere's likely more to come.

"But thankfully, almost all the tornadoes that have occurred, especially in urban areas, have been weak tornadoes," he said.

"We're expecting tornadoes to start ramping upcertainly in July and August in Canada. That's the two peak months."