Severe thunderstorm ravages North Middlesex, Ont.
Northern Middlesex County seems to have been hardest hit by a large storm system that hit southwestern Ontario Sunday evening.
The storm, which included intense lightning and rain in many areas, caused substantial damage in Ailsa Craig, Parkhill and surrounding areas.
While the steeple of a historic church was toppled by high winds in Ailsa Craig, the most substantial damage appears to be out-of-town, where a silo was blown across a field and a barn was destroyed.
At that latter scene, property owner John Brendan tells CTV News London he’d gone to bed before the storm hit.
"Amazingly, I slept through it," he said.
This, despite the fact several trees had fallen just in front of his residence.
Around 1:30 a.m. Brendan woke up to discover rain had soaked his bedroom window. He then went outside to discover the intense damage around him.
“I shined my flashlight at the barn and the barn was non-existent.”
Brendan says he told himself it was a bad dream and went back to bed. At dawn, he was woken up by neighbours who had seen the destruction of his barn that had stood on his property since 1889.
“The first thing all my neighbours said is, ‘Thank god you’re OK, ‘Thank God you’re OK!’”
While there is no official word of what caused the damage, Brendan strongly believes it was tornado.
Steel, wood and other debris from the seemingly imploded structure is scattered across a path at least half-a-kilometre long. Concrete walls along its side lay broken by the wind.
Further down the road from Brendan’s farm, hydro poles are bent, snapped or just barely hanging on.
Inside Ailsa Craig, the clean up is underway, with dozens of trees and hundreds of tree limbs down across a large portion of town.
Local firefighter Toby Killby, who was busy cutting downed trees on his property, reflected on how the storm began with flash lightning.
“Things just went wild from there, the power went out. It’s just like a wall of rain coming across the yard. It was crazy.”
Paula Stainton heard the wildest moment of the storm, the steeple at the Trinity church coming down.
“Heard a lot of tracking, heard some trees were down, and the church roof was gone!”
That reality leaves Ron Walker, the curator of the church feeling thankful.
Looking at the topped steeple, he is glad the rest of the structure, built in 1870, was not destroyed. A large tree, just behind it, narrowly missed taking out the church.
It comes as he prepares the building for a 25th anniversary party this Saturday to mark it becoming part of the local museum.
He is hopeful the steeple might be replaced before then.
“So it’s been up since 1869 and 1870 and decided last night it was time to take a rest on the ground.”
The impact of the storms also closed a few schools in Northwest Middlesex, Elgin and Norfolk counties.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.