Environment Canada confirms 2nd tornado hit Huntsville, Ont., area on same day

Environment Canada has confirmed that a second tornado touched down in Ontario's Muskoka region on Friday evening.

Steve Knott, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Monday it appears the tornado, classified as an EF1, tracked on the ground for nine kilometres. Its path was roughly 15 kilometres from the town of Huntsville.

No one was injured but cottages and trees in the area were damaged.

• Environment Canada confirms tornado hit Ontario's cottage country, 3,000 still without power

Knott said the weather office has determined the tornado started at Pell Lake, made its way across Highway 8 and wreaked havoc in the Rebecca Lake area. He described the damage to cottages and trees as significant.

The tornado then went across Bella Lake and may have gone as far as Dotty Lake. A forested area near Rebecca Lake is said to be 80 per cent devastated. 

"People are going on adrenalin right now in terms of trying to clean up. A number of people are quite shaken. It's quite devastating for them, I would say," he said.

Knott, who went to the area to see the devastation for himself, said people huddled in their homes when the tornado churned through the area. 

Environment Canada will investigate whether the tornado was actually stronger than an EF1. He said it caused more destruction than the first tornado that touched down on Fairy Lake near Huntsville on the same night.

Knott said the first tornado, which was confirmed by Environment Canada on Saturday, touched down south of Huntsville, then made its way east.

It crossed Brunell Road, went over land to Fairy Lake, and may have turned into a water spout on the lake. It then made its way to Deerhurst Resort, where it flipped over a boat and knocked over the big Muskoka chair at the lodge. 

Knott said a lot of people heard it before they saw it.

"They described it as a Lancaster bomber or a freight train coming through."

Environment Canada estimated that the first twister had speeds of 130 to 150 km/h. It also damaged homes and trees in the vicinity.

"The people who experienced this are not going to forget it for the rest of their lives," he said. 

On Friday evening, severe thunderstorms moved through the Muskoka region, downing trees and knocking out power lines. 

Dana Gardner, spokesperson for Hydro One, said Monday that more than 22,000 customers in all were without power following the storms in the province. The hardest-hit areas were Huntsville, Bracebridge and Brockville.

Trees fell on Hydro One equipment, she said.

Many people had no electricity most of Saturday. Electricity was restored to the Huntsville and Bracebridge areas by Sunday evening.

"The high winds caused a lot of tree damage," she said. "In some cases, some remote areas access proved to be a challenge for us."

Hydro One crews were brought in from other areas to help the utility restore power quickly, she said. 

And while many residents of the areas no doubt spent much of the weekend cleaning up, by Monday evening, there was a very different scene in the area.