It went as quickly as it came in most areas but what it left behind may well translate into a long weekend clean-up. Some
severe and volatile weather hit the GTA and a wide swath of Ontario on Friday, bringing winds gusting up to 90 kilometres an hour, frightening lightning, golf ball sized hail and even
tornado warnings in what turned into a very scary afternoon drive home.
The storm hit the downtown core with a vengeance just before 5pm, leaving drenched pedestrians, slick streets and upturned umbrellas. And we got off easy. Funnel clouds were spotted in Hamilton and Brantford, although it's not yet clear if any tornadoes actually touched down in either city. The strong winds lifted the roof off an apartment complex in Brampton, and the debris ended up in the back yard (pictured) of Cedric Payne and his family. "What can I do? There's nothing I can do. All I can do is start over," he said, adding that he was relieved his own roof was still intact.
A huge cell also hit cottage country, with conditions so bad in the Barrie area, visibility was down to zero in some places. As much as 75 millimetres of rain fell in less than an hour, as a cold front chased out the warm sticky air that sent temperatures into the 30s during the day. Some people were caught by surprise. "I knew it was coming. I told my wife and I'm very upset," grumps Lall Narian as he tried to get to his cottage for the weekend. "Because when they talk about a tornado up north, it is going to be a tornado." There wasn't one, but no one will ever forget the twister of May 1985 that claimed eight lives.
Even those inside their cars weren't spared the late spring torrent. Don Davis had just ordered food at the drive-thru. "[I] open up the window and it was coming in and I asked for a towel." But they weren't on the menu.
The violent outburst only lasted about ten minutes at its worst. When it was done, tree limbs and fences had been brought down, cars were damaged, basements were flooded and at least 70,000 homes throughout the region were without power.
It's the latest in a bizarre series of weather events that's left many residents wondering what can possibly happen next. It started with a
cold spell and a frost warning on Tuesday, and ended with near record setting warmth just three days later. The good news is it will all quite literally blow over, as a clearing trend moves in. That should leave us with the kind of weekend we haven't really seen in a while - lots of sun and warmth on both days, with highs near a pleasant 24C or 25C. But getting there definitely wasn't half the fun.
Check the long range forecast
What to do during a storm
What to do during a tornado