You might think tornadoes are a Midwest weather event, but it turns out they can form along the coast as well.
That’s what happened in Little Harbour, P.E.I., on Wednesday, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Jill Maepea.
“It was classified as an EF0 tornado with an estimated max wind speed of 115 kilometres per hour. There was a waterspout in Rollo Bay just west of this area as well that was also confirmed,” Maepea says.
Waterspouts are more common in P.E.I. and generally don’t cause damage because they form over the water. When waterspouts do hit land, they usually dissipate quickly.
“We have an EF scale that goes from zero to five based on wind speed. The last time P.E.I. saw a tornado, it was also EF0 in Crapaud in 2007,” Maepea says.
She adds that Wednesday’s weather event started as a waterspout that maintained itself as it moved ashore, turning it into a tornado.
The tornado touched down around 12:50 p.m., and resident Brielle Campbell was able to capture video from her home.
In the video, large chunks of debris can be seen being lifted and flying through the air.
Campbell says there was only minor damage to trees.
Meteorologists say a separate thunderstorm cell over Charlottetown at the time caused significant rainfall and flash flooding in the downtown area. They note it was not part of the tornado event but was nevertheless significant for the island.
