In 2010, Leamington, Ontario woke up to the devastation of a tornado
On this day in weather history, a tornado hit Leamington, Ont.
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.
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On Sunday, June 6, 2010, at around 3:30 a.m., an F1 tornado struck Leamington, Ont. Leamington is the third-largest area in Windsor-Essex County and has a population of 27,595. Leamington is near Lake Erie and is one of the southernmost parts of Canada.
As residents woke up on Sunday, they discovered that the area was under a state of emergency. Overnight, the twister had taken down trees, crushed cars, and damaged homes.
Leamington, Ont. Courtesy of TWN
The damage path was around two kilometres, according to Environment Canada. The community woke up to overturned cars and damaged homes, but no one was hurt or killed.
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The tornado also destroyed greenhouses, which is a main economic driver for the area. Leamington is known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada," as it's home to a tomato processing factory that was founded in 1908.
Leamington, ON. Courtesy of TWN
The storm also knocked out the power for thousands of homes.
A few hours before the Leamington event, another tornado killed seven people in Toledo, Ohio, which is just across Lake Erie.
Leamington, ON. Courtesy of TWN
The Lake area had a very active tornado weekend with at least four tornadoes in northern Ohio.
On the Canadian side, another F1 tornado touched down in eastern Ontario on Saturday afternoon. This event and the Leamington twister were the first two tornadoes of 2010.
To learn more about the Leamington tornado, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."
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Thumbnail: Courtesy of TWN
