On the afternoon of August 21, 2011, an F3[7] tornado touched down in the town, after coming ashore as a waterspout as the mesocyclonethunderstorm cell moved across Lake Huron. It was the strongest tornado that had hit Ontario since the Arthur, Ontario tornado of April 20, 1996, though on average, F3 tornadoes occur in Ontario every eight years. The devastating storm downed power lines, tore roofs off houses, and left cars and trees scattered along city streets. Hundred-year-old trees surrounding the Goderich Courthouse were uprooted in seconds. The tornado killed one person: Norman Laberge, 61, of Lucknow, who was working in a salt mine on the coast of Lake Huron when the storm hit. 37 people were injured. The Environment Canada weather forecast office in Toronto issued a tornado warning for Goderich and southern Huron County 12 minutes before the tornado struck.[8] The town does not have a tornado siren unlike some other Ontario cities.
i was home at the time, preparing my house for sale
luckily,
my self and my home were not injured, although the most beautiful tree in the yard
crashed down ( only part of it ) and buried my car
believe me, it is nothing compared to what happened
i have attached a few video clips and words from others
i could not possibly say it better
all credit is shown on the youtube videos and written where i could find it
the above photo shows the tornado path from the lake to the salt evaporator
plant (photo by joe gowanlock)
"On August 21, 2011 an F3 Tornado ripped through my town and changed the
face of it forever. This is a 3 part story- the before, the
destruction and the cleanup. This is a tribute to those who lost, and those
who came to the aid of our community. The response from all those who
wanted to help was unbelievable, overwhelming and will never be forgotten.
It was amazing to see everyone from children to the pro's pitch in and do
whatever they could to help out.
