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A series of violent thunderstorms swept across Canada’s most populated corridor on Saturday, killing at least five people and cutting power to nearly a million people.
The storms cut a path of devastation from southern Ontario to southeastern Quebec and passed near or through three of Canada’s four largest cities: Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Toronto International Airport, the largest in the country, measured a wind gust of about 75 miles per hour. Ottawa International Airport, another major hub, also experienced a 75-mph gust.
Environment Canada, the national weather and climate agency, reported five deaths and several injuries due to the strong winds. “Significant damage to trees, power lines and buildings” was also reported, as well as overturned cars and widespread power outages.
At least three of the five deaths in Ontario and Ottawa were caused by falling trees, according to law enforcement.
One of those deaths occurred when a tree fell on a trailer at the Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area, Ontario Provincial Police reported. Another occurred in Brampton, west of Toronto, when a large tree struck a woman walking during the storm, Peel Regional Police said on Twitter. And in Ottawa, police confirmed Sunday that a tree fell on a 59-year-old man at a golf course the day before, killing him.
In another incident, a woman died when her boat capsized on the Ottawa River, the Toronto Star reported.
Details of the fifth victim remained unclear on Sunday. The Star reported that a 44-year-old man was killed in the Madawaska metropolitan area west of Ottawa, also after being hit by a falling tree. The Post could not verify the information.
“My thoughts are with their families and friends and I extend my condolences on behalf of all Ontario residents.” Ottawa Premier Doug Ford tweeted on Saturday night.
Several of the deaths underscore a common theme in severe wind events: Those who participate in outdoor activities are particularly vulnerable to violent gusts of wind. The US Storm Prediction Center website states that “individuals involved in outdoor activities are at particular risk,” particularly “campers or hikers in wooded areas” who are “at risk of being injured or killed by falling trees.” “.
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Widespread damage to trees and power infrastructure also dealt a severe blow to power distribution in the city corridor. As of Saturday night, power outage aggregator PowerOutage.com listed about 925,000 outages in Quebec and Ontario, a massive event for a country of just over 38 million people. As of Sunday morning, PowerOutage.com was still reporting nearly 700,000 customers without power.
Rescue workers responded to more than 500 calls Saturday about downed power lines, fires, downed trees and damaged buildings, CTV Ottawa reported.
The storm complex has almost certainly been qualified as a derecho, or thunderstorm complex, producing extremely strong wind gusts over a wide swath. The effects of a derecho’s violent winds are often comparable to those of a hurricane. Derechos are fairly common in the lower 48 states, but are less common north of the border and rarely affect such densely populated corridors.
Derechos often strike along the northern periphery of heat domes where conditions are ripe for severe thunderstorms. Indeed, a very unusual preseason heat swelled across eastern North America on Saturday, with numerous cities in the eastern United States setting records.
The combination of this heat with moisture pulled north from the Gulf of Mexico promoted extreme atmospheric instability, or fuel for thunderstorms, across eastern Canada. The storms erupted when that hot, humid air met a strong cold front marching east. This was the same cold front that caused temperatures in Denver to drop more than 50 degrees in 24 hours and helped spawn the deadly tornado in Gaylord, Mich.
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Historically, a derecho event occurs about every four years in far southeastern Canada, according to the Storm Prediction Center. But Saturday’s event took place unusually far to the Northeast and at an unusual time of year; Many Canadian derechos struck in July or August.
The unusual characteristics of Saturday’s derecho may have been representative of a climate change-related trend in the location of such damaging thunderstorm events. According to the Storm Prediction Center’s website, “corridors of maximum derecho frequency would likely shift poleward over time” as warm high-pressure domes expand northward under global warming.
Paulina Villegas contributed to this report