Wild video captures moment tornado touches down in Uxbridge, Ont.
New video has emerged showing the moment a tornado touched down in Uxbridge, Ont. over the weekend, ripping the roof off a local brewery in the process.
The footage was captured by several cameras attached to a Tesla that was parked outside the Second Wedge Brewery on Victoria Street.
It shows the sky quickly darkening as the EF2 tornado first touched down in the area on Saturday afternoon.
A camera positioned at the rear of the vehicle initially shows heavy winds pummeling a tent that had been set up outside the brewery, tearing up the canopy and bending the metal frame.
Then within seconds a stream of debris, including what appears to be lumber and insulation from the brewery’s roof, starts to fly through a shot captured by a front facing camera.
The whole thing unfolds over about two minutes of footage and by the time it is done you can see another parked vehicle with at least two broken windows and a mound of debris in the foreground.
The Toronto resident, whose vehicle captured the footage, told CP24.com that he had just arrived at the brewery with his wife and seven-month-old son when the rain started falling.
He said that he did get the emergency alert warning of approaching thunderstorms on his phone but was seated inside and wasn’t particularly concerned at first.
Debris is shown hitting a vehicle in Uxbridge as a EF2 tornado touched down over the weekend. (CanuckChris/YouTube)
The situation, however, quickly changed.
“The rain started to pick up quite heavily and as the staff was closing the bay doors at the front of the building I looked over at my wife and said ‘Wow, it is coming down really heavy.’ A second or two later it had picked up to the point that it wasn’t a ‘oh wow’, it was an ‘oh no.,’” Chris Kreasul said.
“We were going to relocate to the back off the bar. We got two steps away from the table we were sitting at and then there was a really loud cracking sound. My wife turned around to protect our seven-month old son from the glass shattering from the windows and I bear hugged them, covered them up and covered my head. I just waited it out as all the debris from the roof fell on top of me.”
Saturday’s storm caused widespread damage throughout Uxbridge, prompting the town to declare a state of emergency.
Environment Canada has previously said that the tornado was embedded within the leading edge of a derecho, which is a widespread and long-lived windstorm associated with a line of thunderstorms.
At one point a maximum wind speed of 195 kilometres per hour was recorded.
“It was like a war zone,” Kreasul said of the scene outside the brewery after the storm passed. “There was downed tress everywhere, debris of all kinds all over the place, the roof from the brewery was missing and across the parking lot on top of two vehicles. It just didn’t look like the same place as it was when we got there.”
Kreasul said that he didn’t actually think to check the video footage from his Tesla until a few days after the tornado, as he was pretty shaken up by what transpired.
He said that while his car was “beaten up” with a cracked windshield and a damage roof, he was able to drive his family home to Toronto following the storm.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
More importantly, he said that nobody was injured.
“It is a miracle we got away as well as we did. Looking at the video I can’t believe nobody was seriously hurt,” he said.
The co-founder of the brewery told CTV News Toronto earlier this week that the business could be closed for upwards of a year due to the damage
The brewery is one of at least 35 properties in Uxbridge that was heavily damaged as a result of the storm.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Justin and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Debate on abortion rights erupts on Parliament Hill, Poilievre vows he won't legislate
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
New analysis of Beethoven's hair reveals possible cause of mysterious ailments, scientists say
High levels of lead detected in authenticated locks of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair suggest that the composer had lead poisoning, which may have contributed to ailments he endured over the course of his life, including deafness, according to new research.
B.C. man used Bobcat as 'weapon' while chasing away homeless people, judge says
A B.C. man has been convicted of assault with a weapon after using a skid-steer Bobcat to chase two homeless people from his lawn, injuring one of them in the process.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.