1985 Barrie tornado

1985 F4 tornado in Ontario, Canada 1985 Barrie tornado 1985 Barrie tornado.jpeg A rain-wrapped tornado The rain-wrapped tornado as seen outside of Barrie. May 31, 1985, 5:00 p.m. EDT (UTC−05:00) F4 ≥ 8 fatalities, ≥ 155 injuries $150 million (1985 CAD)nb Losses All losses are in 1985 CAD unless otherwise noted.$CA 150,000,000 1985 -4 (CA CAD) 1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak and the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1985 On Friday, May 31, 1985, a short-lived, but devastating and violent F4 tornado affected the City of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The tornado was part of a larger outbreak that spanned both the preceding and the following day. The outbreak spawned several long-lived, cyclic, tornado-producing supercells over portions of Eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region of the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, one of which eventually generated the tornado. Meteorological synopsis 1985 United States–Canada tornado outbreak On the afternoon of May 31, atmospheric conditions were conducive to a large-scale severe weather event over portions of the Great Lakes region. An anomalously intense low-pressure system of no more than 984 mb inHg on on had already impinged on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Meanwhile, a cold front had extended southward from the low across the western Great Lakes and then through Illinois and Missouri. Severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes had already impacted portions of the Midwest, particularly Iowa and Wisconsin, the day previous, associated with this same cold front. Very warm, moist air advected in ahead of this system, forming a broad warm sector. Temperatures reached approximately 80 – 85 F C on on across much of southern Ontario, in addition to high dew points. By late afternoon, temperatures had reached 87 F C on at Cleveland, Ohio, 82 F C on at Youngstown, and 85 F C on at Erie, Pennsylvania.The Tornado Outbreak of May 31, 1985 https://www.weather.gov/cle/event_19850531_85outbreak Cleveland, OH Weather Forecast Office National Weather Service 19 May 2021 Cleveland, OhioTornado Outbreak May 31, 1985 - Meteorology https://www.weather.gov/cle/event_19850531_85outbreak_meteorology Cleveland, OH Weather Forecast Office National Weather Service 20 May 2021 Brooklyn Heights, OhioMay 31, 1985 Tornado Outbreak: 35th Anniversary https://www.weather.gov/ctp/TornadoOutbreak_May311985 State College, PA Weather Forecast Office National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration State College, Pennsylvania 19 May 2021 Tornado summary alt=Black-and-white aerial photograph outlining state boundaries and highlighting thunderstorm anvils|left|thumb|GOES visible satellite image showing overshooting tops as the tornado was entering Barrie Over Ontario two very severe thunderstorms had developed (that probably owe their inception, at least partially, to lake-breeze-related convergence): one to the east of Clinton and another further to the north, in the Walkerton area. These would grow into a pair of devastating, cyclic storms within the next hour—likely the most prolific tornado producers in Canadian history to date.J. R. Janzen Excerpt from the Report on the 1985 Barrie Tornado https://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/msb/awps/bartorep_e.cfm The Green Lane Environment Canada 20 May 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20020817171744/https://www.msc-smc.ec.gc.ca/msb/awps/bartorep_e.cfm 17 August 2002 16 August 2001 The Barrie tornado formed from the northernmost of this pair of supercells, was the final member of a long-lived tornado family, and may have consisted of three separate, short-tracked tornadoes.Etkin Brun Chrom Dogra 2002 3 It formed in southern Simcoe County (Essa Township), less than 10 km southwest of Highway 400 and the Barrie city limits. The situation was compounded by the presence of copious amounts of moisture, which would not only allow any storms that could form to become severe rather quickly, but also lead to the high-precipitation (HP) counterpart of the supercell thunderstorm, obscuring any tornado that could manage to develop.Verkaik Verkaik 1997 May 2021 Intensifying upon touchdown, the Barrie tornado first obliterated a pine tree forest plantation. Some mid 10 m ft -tall trees were snapped at the on 2 m ft level. At this point the damage path was about 600 m ft yd mi on wide, moving steadily towards the east-northeast. It then entered the southern part of Barrie shortly before 5:00 p.m. (21:00 UTC). Visibility was very low as the tornado was cloaked in heavy rain and dust, thus making it very difficult to see. Extensive F3 (although some localized F4) damage occurred to an entire square block of homes in the Crawford Street and Patterson Road subdivision. Five people were killed in the area as some homes there were not well-built, and thus collapsed after being pushed off their foundations.Etkin Brun Chrom Dogra 2002 3 Two of these five deaths included a mother and son, killed when their Crawford Street home was completely levelled.Bruineman M. Touchdown: 25 years after the Barrie tornado Barrie Examiner 30 May 2010 Barrie, Ontario A8–A9 Most of the fatalities occurred in homes with no basements, where head and chest trauma resulted from an increased exposure to flying debris. Next, the tornado hit an industrial complex (known then as Molson Park). One person died at a tire retreading facility while at least 15 other businesses were damaged or destroyed. Steel I-beams were twisted violently out of shape, and splinters of wood were found embedded into nearby concrete walls. The tornado then proceeded to cross Highway 400 at Essa Road (former Highway 27) interchange, just missing the Barrie Racetrack to the south. The grandstand was heavily damaged and several barns nearby were destroyed. A man was killed after he was sucked out of his parked car in an adjacent lot. Several vehicles traveling on Highway 400 were tossed hundreds of metres into the ditch, the drivers escaping with only minor injuries. Highway guard rails were found wrapped around telephone poles nearby. Many cars were also found with puncture holes in their frames, owing to the flying debris. As it crossed the highway, it moved into the Allandale subdivision. Many homes sustained severe damage there, with much of their upper floors missing. By this time the tornado's path had narrowed to about 300 m. The track moved from Debra Crescent to Joanne Court with more extensive damage. Near Tower Crescent, the path narrowed to a comparatively small fifty metres.Etkin Brun Chrom Dogra 2002 3 On Briar Road, homes sustained only minor damage, indicating that the tornado had weakened somewhat. But the next road east, Trillium Crescent, sustained heavy damage indicating that it had strengthened once again. Four warehouses near Highway 11 were ripped apart. It then hit the Tollendal Woods and Minets Point area, taking out the Brentwood Marina and a nearby subdivision. A boy was killed in this area while trying to bicycle home. Over thirty boats, accompanied by their concrete moorings, were tossed into Lake Simcoe and never to be recovered.Etkin Brun Chrom Dogra 2002 3 The tornado then moved out over Kempenfelt Bay where it became a waterspout for a brief time before weakening out completely. It came very close to the opposite shore, but no damage was reported there. Large quantities of debris from the city were later found floating in the bay, however. Despite the tornado's relatively short path length (under 10 km), eight died in Barrie with 155 injured, and as many as 300 homes were damaged or destroyed.James Doug Deadly Skies: Canada's Most Destructive Tornadoes http://archives.cbc.ca/environment/extreme_weather/topics/1713-11757/ CBC Digital Archives Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 20 May 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20080609222009/http://archives.cbc.ca/environment/extreme_weather/topics/1713-11757/ 9 June 2008 Barrie, Ontario June 3, 1985 Motion picture Unofficial estimates of the dead and injured ranged as high as 12 and 281, respectively.Séguin 2008 62 Aftermath Recovery efforts June 2026 At approximately 4:00 p.m. EDT (20:00 UTC), all electrical power in Barrie went out, as the Grand Valley/Tottenham tornado took out the main hydroelectric power transformers, southwest of the city.LeGrand 1990 May 2021 Few residents had any idea of what was looming over the horizon, but many people were let off work 30–45 minutes before the storm hit due to these power outages. Had this not happened, the death toll would have undoubtedly been much higher.Etkin Brun Chrom Dogra 2002 3 Hundreds of people were left out of work largely as a result of the massive damage sustained to the industrial complex in Barrie. Of the 605 homes in the path of the Barrie tornado, approximately one-third were rendered uninhabitable.Séguin 2008 62 See also 1985 Niles–Wheatland tornado – Another deadly tornado from the same outbreak 2014 Barrie tornado – High-end EF2 tornado affected southern Barrie as well as the nearby town of Angus 2007 Elie, Manitoba tornado – Only F5 tornado on record in Canada Edmonton tornado – Second deadliest Canadian tornado on record Notes nb References 2 Sources Allen D. E. January 1986 http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/brn/brn240/brn240.pdf Tornado Damage in the Barrie/Orangeville Area, Ontario, May 1985 240 National Research Council Canada: Institute for Research in Construction Building Research Note Ottawa National Research Council Canada https://web.archive.org/web/20120402140115/http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/brn/brn240/brn240.pdf 2 April 2012 19 May 2021 Brooks Harold E. Harold E. Brooks On the Relationship of Tornado Path Length and Width to Intensity Weather and Forecasting April 2004 19 2 310–19 10.1175/1520-0434(2004)019<0310:OTROTP>2.0.CO;2 free American Meteorological Society 2004WtFor..19..310B Cook A. R. Schaefer J. T. The Relation of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to Winter Tornado Outbreaks Monthly Weather Review American Meteorological Society August 2008 136 8 3135 10.1175/2007MWR2171.1 free 2008MWRv..136.3121C CNTD 1985 Environment and Climate Change Canada May 1985 Verified Tornadoes Government of Canada Canadian National Tornado Database https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/f314a39f-009d-430b-97b9-d6e0cae22340 Etkin David A. Brun Soren E. Chrom Solomon Dogra Pooja July 2002 https://www.iclr.org/wp-content/uploads/PDFS/a-tornado-scenario-for-barrie-ontario.pdf A Tornado Scenario for Barrie, Ontario 20 Adaptation and Impacts Research Group, Environment Canada; University of Toronto Toronto Canadian Natural Hazards Assessment Project Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction 19 May 2021 Fujita Ted Ted Fujita Stiegler Duane J. Tornado Outbreak in the United States and Canada on May 31, 1985 Storm Data May 1985 27 5 Outstanding Storms of the Month National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina Chicago Fuller John G. 1987 Tornado Watch Number 211 William Morrow and Company 978-0688065904 Grazulis Thomas P. Thomas P. Grazulis Significant Tornadoes 1880–1989 November 1990 The Tornado Project of Environmental Films St. Johnsbury, Vermont 1-879362-02-3 2 Grazulis Thomas P. Thomas P. Grazulis Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events July 1993 The Tornado Project of Environmental Films St. Johnsbury, Vermont 1-879362-03-1 Grazulis Thomas P. Thomas P. Grazulis The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz registration 2001a University of Oklahoma Press Norman, Oklahoma 978-0-8061-3538-0 Grazulis Thomas P. F5-F6 Tornadoes The Tornado Project of Environmental Films 2001b St. Johnsbury, Vermont Jacinthe Séguin 2008 http://www.sindark.com/NonBlog/Articles/hc-cc-report/chapter3.pdf Vulnerabilities to Natural Hazards and Extreme Weather http://www.climateneeds.umd.edu/reports/Health%20Canada-Human%20Health%20in%20a%20Changing%20Climate.pdf Human Health in a Changing Climate: a Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity Health Canada Ottawa 19 May 2021 Joe P. Leduc M. 1993 Radar Signatures and Severe Weather Forecasting Burgess D. Church C. Davies-Jones R. Doswell C. Robert Davies-Jones Charles A. Doswell III The Tornado: Its Structure, Dynamics, Prediction, and Hazards 233–240 Washington, D.C. American Geophysical Union LeGrand Jacques Abbott Elizabeth 1990 Chronicle of Canada Montreal Chronicle Publications 9780920417164 Storm Data 1985a National Weather Service Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena Storm Data May 1985 27 5 National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/sd/sd.html Storm Data 1985b National Weather Service Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena Storm Data June 1985 27 6 National Climatic Data Center Asheville, North Carolina https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/sd/sd.html Storm Data Publication 1985 National Weather Service May–June 1985 Storm Data Publication National Centers for Environmental Information Storm Events Database https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/ Lott Neal Sam McCown Tom Ross 1998-1999 Tornadoes and a Long-Term U.S. Tornado Climatology National Climatic Data Center Technical Report 99-02 National Climatic Data Center 1999 August 2000 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/techrpts/tr9902/tr9902.pdf Asheville, North Carolina Verkaik Jerrine Verkaik Arjen 1997 Under the Whirlwind Elmwood, Frontenac County, Ontario Whirlwind Books 1st 9780968153703 Witten Donald E. August 1985 May 31, 1985: a Deadly Tornado Outbreak https://www.weather.gov/media/ctp/1985%20Outbreak/081985_WeatherWise.pdf Weatherwise Washington, D.C. Heldref Publications 20 May 2021 38 4 05, Barrie Barrie Tornado, 05 Tornado, 05, Barrie Category:F4, EF4 and IF4 tornadoes Category:Tornadoes in Ontario