Environment Canada says winds reached 155 km/h in destructive Quebec tornado

MONTREAL — Environment Canada says the tornado that hit west of Montreal on Monday generated maximum wind speeds of about 155 kilometres per hour.

The agency says in a statement today that the storm’s path was 14 kilometres long, from Très-Saint-Rédempteur, Que., to Pointe-Fortune.

Data collected by the Northern Tornadoes Project from Western University in London, Ont., place the tornado as an EF-1, which is on the lower end of the Enhanced Fujita Scale used to measure tornado severity.

The tornado tore through the communities roughly 60 kilometres west of Montreal at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, taking seconds to rip apart homes, vehicles and farm buildings.

Très-Saint-Rédempteur Mayor Julie Lemieux said the tornado toppled trees and damaged several homes and farm buildings in her community as well as in nearby Rigaud.

No injuries were reported.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.

The Canadian Press