Heavy wind damages parts of residential area

The strong wind that came through the residential area near Creekside Convenience Tuesday afternoon might not have been enough to be classified as a tornado by Environment Canada, but it was certainly enough to leave behind some damage.

Commissioner of public safety Lloyd Phillips said that the event was more probably a “microburst,” the technical term for the strong downburst of winds that can occur within a thunderstorm.

“If it was a tornado, that’s usually confirmed through Environment Canada,” said Phillips, who noted that no such confirmation had been made after Tuesday’s storm.

“Storms of that magnitude, they come and go very quickly, but they could leave a lot of damage behind,” said Phillips.

That’s what Audrey Diabo experienced firsthand.

“It was like an arm, just grabbing everything,” said Diabo.

The trampoline in the yard was pressed to her door, her light next to the door was broken off its mooring, the gazebo next door was completely shredded, fences and big tree branches broke off, and debris lay everywhere - including a mattress that became snagged in her fence, as well as the remains of a crumpled up aluminum shed that tumbled into the street, scratching cars in the process.

“It sounded like the windows were going to blow in. I looked out, and the plants were straight out, 90 degrees from the wind, the rain was coming straight,” said Diabo.

“When they say it sounds like a train coming, it did.”

The whole thing lasted just a few minutes, but to Diabo’s neighbour Brian Roberts, it felt much longer.

“It lasts like two minutes, but it’s a long two minutes,” said Roberts, who along with his wife Sheila Whitebean looked on from inside as the debris flew everywhere.

“I could see the thing, you know, sucking things up like a vacuum and twisting , picking up junk, little junk and garbage and pieces of wood and dirt,” said Roberts.

While property damage did occur, no serious injuries are known to have been reported as a result of the wind.

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