Tornado watch issued for several areas surrounding Toronto ends

A tornado watch issued for several areas surrounding Toronto has ended.

The weather advisory went into effect Thursday morning, with Environment Canada warning of wind gusts at speeds up to 110 km/h. Newmarket, Georgina, Northern York Region, Caledon, Barrie, Peterborough, Uxbridge, Beaverton and Northern Durham Region were all under a tornado watch for much of Thursday.

Environment Canada called the situation dangerous and "potentially life-threatening," warning members of the public to take cover if a tornado forms in their area. Heavy rain and nickel- to Toonie-sized hail were also possible in some areas.

The watch, which was issued as conditions were favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms that were capable of producing tornadoes, was lifted late Thursday evening.

No tornadoes have been reported.

Many parts of southern Ontario were also under several weather advisories, but all ended as of Thursday evening as thunderstorms moved east.

In Toronto, while there was a risk of thunderstorms, no weather alerts were issued.

On Thursday afternoon, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) advised passengers coming to Toronto Pearson Airport to check their flight status as the weather could impact operations.

GTAA spokesperson Sean Davidson said passengers could see delays, potentially cancellations, due to the weather.

"A big part of that is because this could be a sustained period of lightning at the airport, and safety is our number one priority. So when there is lightning within a five-kilometre radius of the airport, we need to pull our employees off the airfield so that they're not in any danger," Davidson said.

"Weather isn't something that we necessarily think of delaying operations here in the summer. It's normally winter, but lightning can actually have a very significant impact on the operations. But at the end of the day, safety is key for our employees," he added.

It appeared airport operations weren't disrupted. As of 11 p.m., Pearson airport reported 2.42 per cent of the 496 scheduled departing flights have been cancelled. Meanwhile, of the 507 scheduled arrivals, 4.34 per cent were cancelled.

CP24 meteorologist Bill Coulter said Thursday morning that lingering showers will continue to pass through the GTA overnight and produce a high of 24 C on Friday.

"A few isolated showers may pop up Friday. But, bright and pleasant weather is on the way for the start of the weekend," Coulter said.

Saturday will bring mainly sunny skies with a breezy wind and a high of 24 C. Sunday's Father's Day forecast is expected to be cloudy with a risk of showers in the evening and a high of 24 C.

Things will really heat up on Monday, when the temperature could reach 31 C, but will feel like 37 with the humidity. The heat will continue through Tuesday and Wednesday when the highs are expected to reach 32 and 33 C, respectively.