Deadly thunderstorm complex cuts power to nearly a million in Canada

[John Farley]

A derecho travelled from far eastern Michigan through Ontario and Quebec, for more than 600 miles. More recent reports indicate the death toll has risen to 8. This is one of the more comprehensive articles I have seen on this storm, which hit the most populated part of Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City, London, and other sizable cities.

Deadly thunderstorm complex cuts power to nearly a million in Canada - The Washington Post

 

[Brian OConnell]

I was watching that on radar hoping it missed NY even though it was a day I planned on chasing, the reflectivity values were like a hail core even though it was a squall line, and the radial velocities showed 90mph outflow only a few kft up, with 80 mph outflow only hundreds of feet off the ground, it looked like cat 1 hurricane conditions with hail added

I'm still confused by reports of cars flipped, if they were not moving when they flipped this sounds more like tornado damage than outflow wind

 

[John Farley]

I was watching that on radar hoping it missed NY even though it was a day I planned on chasing, the reflectivity values were like a hail core even though it was a squall line, and the radial velocities showed 90mph outflow only a few kft up, with 80 mph outflow only hundreds of feet off the ground, it looked like cat 1 hurricane conditions with hail added

I'm still confused by reports of cars flipped, if they were not moving when they flipped this sounds more like tornado damage than outflow wind

I would not be surprised if there were some tornadoes embedded somewhere in the line at times. That is not unusual with derechos.

 

[Brian OConnell]

I would not be surprised if there were some tornadoes embedded somewhere in the line at times. That is not unusual with derechos.

Me neither, it looked on radar like the updraft was right next to the gust front, with the extreme outflow winds producing a lot of shear where they met the inflow and even brief hook echos, But even so I am not used to QLCS tornadoes being strong enough to flip cars, around here they seem to all get rated EF1

 

[John Farley]

Most QLCS tornadoes are on the weaker end of the scale, but occasionally they can be stronger. I know of a number of cases of EF-2 or stronger tornadoes associated with QLCS systems. Sadly, around 15 years ago, one took the life of the husband of a co-worker of mine when it hit a shopping area in Fairview Heights, Illinois. A tornado strong enough to flip a car is definitely possible in a derecho.

 

[Brian OConnell]

Most QLCS tornadoes are on the weaker end of the scale, but occasionally they can be stronger. I know of a number of cases of EF-2 or stronger tornadoes associated with QLCS systems. Sadly, around 15 years ago, one took the life of the husband of a co-worker of mine when it hit a shopping area in Fairview Heights, Illinois. A tornado strong enough to flip a car is definitely possible in a derecho.

I'm sure it's possible, it just seems like an unusual and notable event in the absence of embedded supercells