Thursday, August 06, 2009

Mont-Laurier storm an F-2

Ripped from a video this photo shows the tornado forming in Mont-Laurier. (CBC.ca)

The twister that swept Mont-Laurier northwest of Montreal on Tuesday was an F-2 on the Fujita Intensity Scale. A storm of that nature is capable of producing considerable damage. They are rare, and even more so here in Quebec. It was the worst Quebec storm since the Aylmer tornado 15 years ago. The mid-afternoon tornado produced winds in excess of 200km/h and tore through the town damaging hundreds of homes. Nearly 40 are destroyed with walls and roofs removed. The town is littered with debris everywhere and power poles and trees are down. It was a miracle nobody was killed.

Sadly in the aftermath of the storm yesterday a CTV news cameraman, the son of former long time CFCF anchor Bill Haugland, Hugh Haugland, was killed when the helicopter he was riding in crashed near the town. He was filming the storm damage for the network. The pilot was killed as well. He was a 20 year veteran with two teenage daughters and a wife. Very sad indeed - my thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Storm Report HERE

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