1946 Windsor-Tecumseh, Ontario tornado

Infobox tornado single|name=Windsor - Tecumseh Tornado of 1946
date=June 17, 1946
image location=


time=Around 6:00 PM. EDT (2300 UTC)
fujitascale=F4
total damages (USD)=$9,663,000 (estimated in 1946 US Dollars) [ [http://ontario.hazards.ca/historical/Tornado_Ontario-e.html Historical Tornado-Related Events - Atmospheric Hazards Web Site - Ontario - Adaptation and Impacts Research Group - [Meteorological Service of Canada - The Green Lane ] ]
total fatalities=17
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.

Path of destruction

The tornado took a northeastward path, cutting through farmland and forest, an area with few housing subdivisions (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 convert|100|ft|m 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.

Aftermath

After the tornado, looting broke out across the city, but civility and order were quickly restored by the police.Fact|date=January 2008 Many accounts of the tornado were told over the radio (notably, CKLW, which was Windsor's CBC radio affiliate at the time), 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 struck the towns of Fort Frances and International Falls.

It was also just half a mile from the same spot the Windsor Tornado of 1974 touched down.

See also

* List of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
* List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
* List of Canadian Tornadoes
* List of tornadoes striking downtown areas

References

External links

* [http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/canwarn/windsor-e.html Environment Canada account of the tornado with additional clips from The Windsor Star]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-70-1713-11751/disasters_tragedies/tornadoes/clip3 The Windsor - Tecumseh, Ontario Tornado on the CBC Archives]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/500f.asp?id=1-70-1713-11764&wm6=1 The Windsor Tornado - CBC Archives]