Lindsay's early August storm classified a Downburst

DAN CEARNS The Standard

KAWARTHA LAKES: The storm which hit Lindsay on Thursday, August 3rd, has been declared an EF0 Downburst by Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP).

The classification was announced online on Wednesday, August 9th. The storm started at 5 p.m. on August 3rd.

"Wind damage to trees was reported in the Lindsay area after a storm passed through. Several homes under construction were damaged as well. No injuries were reported. As well, areas of Peterborough experienced flooding during the storm. An NTP ground and drone survey was completed, on August 5th, 2023, documenting the damage. Damage assessed as EF0 downburst (microburst), with an estimated maximum wind speed of 115 km per hour," read an NTP report.

The NTP explained on their website what a Downburst is.

"Most showers and thunderstorms produce downdrafts which descend toward the surface then move outward. In certain atmospheric environments, such as those which lead to severe thunderstorms, these downdrafts may be strong enough to cause damage at the surface, or interfere with the ascent/descent of aircraft, and are known as downbursts. A particularly brief, intense downburst that affects an area, less than or equal to, 4 km in diameter is known as a microburst," the post states. "While the rotating winds of a tornado converge at the surface then rise up into the storm, often resulting in narrow paths of chaotic damage, downburst winds descend and diverge beneath the storm and result in outward burst patterns of damage or wide areas with damage mostly from the same direction."

EF0 is the lowest rating on the six-speed Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF). As well as high winds, the Lindsay storm also brought hail to the area.