31 years after the Barrie tornado, science has come a long way in allowing forecasters to predict tornadoes, and social media has allowed them to alert more people, faster, about severe weather.
On May 31st, 1985, an F4 tornado, winds of between 270 and 310 kilometres an hour, sliced a path from Grand Valley to Barrie, killing 12 people, injuring 300 and causing $150 million dollars in damage.
Environment Canada Meteorologist Etienne Gregoire says there hasn’t been anything since in Ontario that was the strength of the Barrie tornado.
He says forecasters can better predict tornadoes thanks to Doppler radar, and they also understand severe weather a lot better when it comes to supercell storms.
Back in the 80’s, Gregoire says forecasters were very reluctant to issue a tornado warning unless they had a visual from police or somebody they really trusted.
Nowadays, he says things are totally different, and forecasters are not afraid to issue a tornado warning without a visual, adding if they see rotation on radar, they will issue a warning.
And, yes, there is a so-called tornado alley in Ontario, with location, location, location being critical.
The tornado alley extends from Stratford, Goderich-area, through Dufferin County, Lake Simcoe, then goes into Haliburton and Bancroft.
