The sky shifted to a green hue, the wind suddenly grew stronger, and then chaos ensued.
Residents in Windsor and Essex County faced a long night of cleanup on Thursday after a fierce storm swept through the area, with Environment Canada reporting radar indications of a tornado nearby.
In Riverside, trees were torn from their roots, power lines were downed, and debris littered the streets. Many homeowners experienced extensive damage from the storm.
Vanessa Bessette observed the storm as it approached her neighborhood, noting how rapidly conditions shifted.
“The sky turned green, everything fell silent,” Bessette shared with CBC Windsor. “Then suddenly… the winds escalated so quickly that visibility was completely lost.”
A house on Ford Boulevard is blanketed in debris after a tornado struck Windsor’s Riverside neighborhood. (Dalson Chen/CBC)
She described the rain and wind as resembling “one large sheet of glass, like fog right in front of you,” which obstructed her view.
Bessette mentioned that her community received several tornado warnings prior to the storm’s arrival, including alerts on residents’ phones and television broadcasts.
She also reported hearing tornado sirens from Detroit across the border.
“You have to take them seriously,” Bessette advised regarding the alerts. “Take them seriously, especially when living this close to the water.”
The storm left behind a path of devastation throughout the area.
Essex-Windsor EMS reported that paramedics attended to a few minor injuries on Thursday due to the severe weather. Windsor Police Service also noted one minor injury related to shattered glass.
The thunderstorm on Thursday downed trees, with some landing on homes and driveways. (Submitted by Susan Cassady)
A massive pine tree was uprooted and became entangled with a power line, leaving the street without electricity. Bessette noted that a swing set ended up lodged in a tree, while a trampoline from a nearby street was also thrown into the branches.
According to Bessette, a shed was torn from its foundation and moved across the street, and part of a streetlight also collapsed.
One of the most alarming events occurred next door to Bessette.
A large tree crashed into her neighbor’s living room, narrowly avoiding the woman inside.
“She received the alert and had just gotten up to go into her basement, narrowly escaping it,” Bessette recounted. “As she was heading down, she heard glass shattering around her, unaware that the tree had come crashing into her living room.”
Vanessa Bessette mentions that residents had raised concerns regarding a large tree close to their homes before the storm occurred. (CBC News)
Bessette confirmed that the woman was unharmed and was taken by family to a safe location.
She added that residents had previously voiced concerns about the tree, having contacted the city multiple times over the years.
“We’ve likely submitted at least five or six complaints, and they continually say, ‘Oh, it’s healthy,’ and they come to trim it,” she explained.
However, she noted that large branches continued to break off during storms.
Now, Bessette expressed hope that the remaining trees would undergo proper evaluation.
“They must come and assess these trees, and those that are hollow like this one need to be removed,” she stated.
My neighbor texted me saying it doesn’t look good and that a tree has fallen on your house.Danny Truong, Windsor resident
The devastation was not confined to Bessette’s street.
Danny Truong returned to find that a large tree had crashed through his house.
“My neighbor sent me a message saying it doesn’t look good and there’s a tree that fell on your house,” Truong shared with CBC News.
Upon his arrival, he discovered a massive tree had fallen where his car was parked, smashing through the living room.
“There’s a huge hole in my living room right now,” he stated.
An old willow tree in Reaume Park lies destroyed by the tornado that swept through the area on Thursday afternoon. Its commemorative plaque, which was also uprooted by the tornado’s force, indicates it was planted in 1953. (Dalson Chen/CBC)
Truong, a nine-year resident of the neighborhood, mentioned he had never witnessed anything like this before.
“This is definitely completely different, totally insane,” he remarked.
Storm united the community
He was in the process of reaching out to his insurance provider and arranging for a damage assessment. With power out, he was also contemplating finding alternative accommodations.
“It certainly doesn’t appear safe,” Truong remarked. “My bedroom is just right there. So… I’m not sure if I would risk it.”
Like Bessette, Truong noted that the tree that caused damage to his house was a city tree that residents had previously sought to have removed.
While the storm inflicted significant damage, residents expressed that it also fostered a sense of community.
Bessette explained that neighbors collaborated to clear fallen trees from the roads so that traffic could resume.
“This is a community. We care about one another,” she stated.
Danny Truong discovered a large tree had fallen through his house upon returning home. (CBC)
Truong mentioned that neighbors reached out to him to check on his well-being and offered assistance.
“Neighbors were inquiring if I was okay and if I needed anything,” he remarked. “They are all very supportive and do their best to help.”
Chris Gillis was at work when he received a call from a neighbor advising him to return home.
Upon his arrival, he saw his swing placed in a tree.
“That’s my swing stuck in the tree up there,” Gillis noted.
Gillis mentioned that numerous individuals in the neighborhood stopped by to check on him and offered their help.
For those who experienced the storm directly, the destruction served as a stark reminder of the necessity to heed severe weather alerts.
Bessette stated that many in her neighborhood were shaken, particularly some elderly residents who had lived there for decades.
“People who have lived here their entire lives have expressed that they have never experienced anything like this,” she remarked.
Many left without power
As cleanup efforts continue following the tornado’s passage through Windsor and McGregor Thursday evening, hundreds of residents remained without power Friday morning.
By 1:30 p.m., ENWIN’s outage map displayed three ongoing outages in the Riverside area affecting 372 customers.
The outage map also indicated four active outages in Pillette, impacting 559 customers. ENWIN stated that this situation is still under investigation, with no estimated time for power restoration available.
An outage in Fountainbleu affected 27 customers, while another in South Central impacted 57 customers, both of which are still under investigation.
Thousands of customers experienced power outages throughout Thursday, primarily affecting areas in south and west Windsor and neighboring LaSalle, following the storm’s fury.
In a message posted on X, ENWIN announced that crews are actively working on restoration efforts after the severe weather experienced the day prior.
The utility company indicated that most affected customers are anticipated to have their power restored by 7 p.m. Friday.
“Restoration may take longer in locations with extensive or isolated damage,” ENWIN mentioned in their social media update.
Traffic signals malfunctioning
In the meantime, the Windsor Police Service reported that several traffic lights are either malfunctioning or completely out of service.
“Motorists need to treat these signals as four-way stops; come to a full stop, and then proceed cautiously when it is your turn and the crosswalk is clear of pedestrians,” police advised in a Friday morning post on X.