OCTOBER 24th - Severe Thunderstorm, 11:30pm - 1am

 

    Strange to have the most powerful storm of the year come after the storm season is over, but this storm put on quite a show.  Temperatures were in the low 20's (21-22C) before the cold front pushed through, and was only 4-5C the next morning.  MASSIVE lightning/thunder with very intense winds and rain.

     The storm started off as a squall line pushing in from the west but suddenly an advance line rapidly popped up ahead of the main line brining the strongest parts of this storm system directly here (Niagara) and the Hamilton area.  2 highlights of the storm : one of the closest lightning bolts I've witnessed.  I call this kind "canon thunder" because there's nothing leading up to it - it's right on top of you so that the flash and the "BANG" is completely simultaneous.  It's not like a low BOOM like most thunder - more like an explosion that went off right on top of you.  Anyway, it set off car alarms throughout the neighborhood.  The 2nd highlight had to be the intense wind/rain that lasted for about 5 minutes.  It rained and was VERY windy throughout, but for 5 minutes during the strongest part of the storm you couldn't see the end of your front lawn and the front windows were just being PLASTERED with wet leaves.  The house was creaking all over and it got to the point where the leaves and rain hitting the window got me thinking that those front windows weren't going to hold much longer.

LIGHTNING :

Click HERE to see a movie of the lightning (about 3.7 megs)
^^ Right Click on the link above and go to "Save Target As" to save it on your computer to watch. ^^

3 frames of a lightning flash :
 

Pic on left is the lightning flash - pic on right is the CG bolt visible after :

The following 3 were taken immediately before the house (or neighbors) was hit.  You can see the way the trees are
lit up and the source of the light, that it's directly overhead, which provided for a TREMENDOUS explosion of thunder.
Click HERE to see a movie of this (this strike happens at about 12:14am on the camcorder timer in the bottom right)
^^ Right Click on the link above and go to "Save Target As" to save it on your computer to watch. ^^

 

2 more shots of a very close strike:

3 more shots of the main flash then the remaining CG bolt :

3 more shots of a close one :

DAMAGE IN INDIANA and MICHIGAN :

US Storm Reports

WUCN13 CWTO 250300
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
UPDATED BY ENVIRONMENT CANADA
AT 11:00 PM EDT WEDNESDAY 24 OCTOBER 2001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR:
      DUFFERIN COUNTY
      GREY COUNTY
      ELGIN COUNTY
      MIDDLESEX COUNTY
      OXFORD COUNTY
      HURON COUNTY
      BRUCE COUNTY.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING ENDED FOR:
      ESSEX COUNTY
      CHATHAM-KENT
      LAMBTON COUNTY.
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
==DISCUSSION==
AT 11.00 PM A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM
NEAR WIARTON TO NEAR STRATHROY TO VICINITY OF PORT GLASGOW.

THIS LINE IS ACCELERATING EASTWARD AND WILL AFFECT ALL REGIONS WITHIN
THE NEXT FEW HOURS.  DAMAGING WINDS TO 120 KM/H AND POSSIBLE LARGE
HAIL ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SOME OF THE STORMS.

THIS IS A WARNING THAT SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING
IN THESE REGIONS.  REMEMBER SOME SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE
TORNADOES..LISTEN FOR UPDATED WARNINGS.  EMERGENCY MEASURES ONTARIO
RECOMMENDS TAKING COVER IMMEDIATELY WHEN THREATENING WEATHER
APPROACHES.

THIS WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1.30 AM.

NOTE..A SUMMARY OF ALL WARNINGS AND WATCHES FOR SOUTHERN ONTARIO IS
AVAILABLE IN THE WWCN13 CWTO BULLETIN ISSUED IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING
THIS BULLETIN.

END/TWN..

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SOUTHERN ONTARIO WATCHES/WARNINGS        Click HERE to email me

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