Tornado and downburst confirmed near Lucan after May 9 storm

A downburst that happened during a May 9 storm in the Lucan area is the first confirmed by Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project in Canada this year. A drone survey of the damaged area showed the roof of a barn had been removed, while the barn’s walls also fell.

By Dan Rolph

A strong thunderstorm on May 9 that made phones across the region buzz with warnings produced a damaging downburst and a tornado in the Lucan area, according to Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project.

While most thunderstorms produce downdrafts of air, a downburst is one with the strength to cause damage, plunging downward out of a storm and spreading outward in all directions when it hits the ground.

According to the project, a downburst occurred in Lucan on Sixteen Mile Road near Wonderland Road at about 4 p.m. No injuries were reported, but a drone survey confirmed that the downburst had removed the roof of a large barn and toppled its walls, classifying the downburst as an EF0 microburst.

They estimated the downburst had a maximum windspeed of 130 km/h.

Shortly after the downburst in Lucan, a tornado touched down south of Granton on Highway 7, just east of Granton Line. The tornado had an estimated maximum windspeed of 110 km/h, and the Northern Tornadoes Project classified it as an EF0 tornado.

The tornado damaged a solar panel, but limited indicators of damage left the project unable to discern its exact path, though they estimated it traveled for at least one kilometre, moving from the west.

Both occurrences are the first confirmed in Canada by the project in 2026.

In 2025, the project confirmed 116 tornadoes and 103 downbursts across the country.