Windsor - Tecumseh, Ontario Tornado of 1946

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Windsor - Tecumseh Tornado of 1946

Date of tornado:

June 17, 1946

Time:

Around 6:00 PM. EDT (2300 UTC)

Rating of tornado:

F4 tornado

Damages:

$Unknown

Fatalities:

Area affected:

Windsor, Ontario, La Salle, Ontario, Tecumseh, Ontario and surrounding area

The Windsor-Tecumseh Tornado of 1946 was the most powerful tornado to hit Windsor, Ontario, being an F4 in strength, touching down on June 17 of that year. The tornado touched down near River Rouge, Michigan, but crossed the river and cut across southern Windsor, Ontario and northern Sandwich West Township, Ontario (Now the Municipality of LaSalle, Ontario), along a path 35 miles (60 km) in length. It also cut across Highway 3 before weakening somewhat. The storm then touched down as an F4 again at the modern-day intersection of Walker Road and Grand Marais Road, near the center of the city.

1 Path of Destruction
2 Aftermath
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Path of Destruction

The tornado took a northeastward path, cutting through farmland and forest, an area with few housing subdivisisons (at the time, but still many homes), and narrowly missing Windsor Airport (which was located just south of the tornado), before tearing through the northwest part of the Town of Tecumseh, Ontario and dissipating over Lake St. Clair.

The storm's path was roughly 100 feet wide, and followed Turkey Creek for much of its length after crossing the Detroit River, and travelled 35 miles (60 km). The storm's damage ranged from F3-F4, to some speculated F5 damage from completely destroyed houses that were lifted off their foundations.

Since the tornado had destroyed The Windsor Star's main printing offices, the Detroit News offered to help them print their newspapers at their printing facilities until the Star's were repaired, and even gave the Windsor Star priority so they could report the news of the tornado to the cities of Windsor, Detroit, and the rest of Ontario.

The tornado knocked out power to most of the city for about a day, and damaged or destroyed roughly 400 homes in Windsor.

[edit] Aftermath

Deadliest tornadoes in Canadian history Death counts before 1900 may be approximate
Rank	Tornado	Date	Deaths
1	"Regina Cyclone"	June 30, 1912	≥28
2	Edmonton Tornado	July 31, 1987	27
3	Windsor-Tecumseh, Ontario tornado	June 17, 1946	17
4	Pine Lake Tornado	July 14, 2000	12
5	Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec	August 16, 1888	9
5	Windsor, Ontario tornado	April 3, 1974	9
7	Barrie, Ontario tornado	May 31, 1985	8
8	Sudbury, Ontario tornado	August 20, 1970	6
8	Sainte-Rose, Quebec tornado	June 8, 1953	6
10	Bouctouche, New Brunswick tornado	August 6, 1879	5
10	Portage la Prairie, Manitoba tornado	May 11, 1953	5
Source: Environment Canada

After the tornado, looting broke out across the city, but civility and order were quickly restored by the police and Boy Scouts. Many accounts of the tornado were told over the radio (notably, CBE-AM), and the Ontario Provincial Government even explained the conditions that are favourable for tornado development, to alleviate the public's fears of an "epidemic of tornadoes", especially since one week later, a tornado strikes the towns of Fort Frances and International Falls.