Families still rebuilding 3 years after tornado struck Barrie
The tornado is becoming a distant memory for many Barrie residents, but for others, the rebuilding hasn't stopped.
CTV News Barrie | Remembering the Tornado
BARRIE TORNADO STORIES
LOOK BACK
LOOK BACK Remembering the 'catastrophic' Barrie tornado on 3rd anniversary
It's been three years since a tornado stormed through a Barrie neighbourhood on July 15, 2021, leaving destruction in its wake in what Environment Canada called a sneak attack.
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Connie Barszcz says she considers the fact that she is alive today a miracle.
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Barrie tornado among Canada's top 10 weather events for 2021
A tornado that ripped through a Barrie community in July made Environment Canada's top 10 weather events for 2021.
'I've given up,' 2 years since Barrie tornado and many residents are still waiting to return home
Two years since a tornado shifted homes from their foundations, blew out windows and tore roofs clear off in a Barrie neighbourhood, many residents are still picking up the pieces and waiting to return home, with roughly a dozen unfinished houses.
'It's a historic storm,' Remembering the Barrie tornado 38 years later
May 31, 1985, started like any other day in Barrie, but all that changed later that afternoon when the sky changed colour, suddenly and without warning, plunging the city into chaos.
Barrie couple overcomes challenges of tornado and long-distance to pursue dreams
The tornado that swept through a south-end Barrie neighbourhood in July 2021 uprooted trees and the lives of those living in the community, including Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon, who are now looking ahead to their future after a turbulent 18 months.
Proposed Barrie developments to be built to withstand severe weather
The builder of two proposed developments in Barrie plans to include hurricane straps in its homes following the devastation of last year's tornado.
TIMELINE OF THE DEVASTATING TORNADOES THAT HIT THE REGION IN 1985
On May 31, 1985, 14 tornadoes swept across the region, leaving a trail of destruction and devastation.
The most powerful tornado touched down in Barrie that day, with winds topping 400 km/ h.
By the end of it all, Environment Canada says 14 tornadoes struck central Ontario over six-hours.
The first tornado, an F2, touched down briefly in Hopeness in the middle of the Bruce Peninsula at 3 p.m. Just over an hour later, another F2 touched down in Hopeville, just northwest of Shelburne.
Then at 4:15 p.m., a deadly F4 tornado with winds between 330 km/h and 410 km/h hit Grand Valley. At exactly the same time, an F-3 tornado hit Alma, just northwest of Fergus.
Within minutes, another F3 tornado touched down in Corbetton, northwest of Melancthon. At 4:50 p.m., an F-2 tornado touched down in Lisle, just west of Base Borden. Seven minutes later, there was another touchdown, this one an F1 just a little farther east.
At 5 p.m., a powerful F4 tornado hit Barrie, touching down in an industrial area, rolling across Highway 400 and up into neighbourhoods before blowing out over Kempenfelt Bay.
An F2 swept through Wagner Lake in Uxbridge, another in the Village of Reaboro southeast of Lindsay just after 6 p.m. Twenty minutes later, south of that in Ida, another one struck – at the same time, the storm formed another F2 tornado further east at Rice Lake.
Another F2 hit just after 6:30 p.m. a little further east at Minto, north of Trenton. The final tornado that day was recorded at 8:10 p.m. at Grippen Lake, northeast of Kingston.
In all, 12 people were killed, including eight in Barrie, two people in Grand Valley, and two people in Tottenham. More than 150 people were injured, a thousand buildings were destroyed or damaged, and lives were changed forever.
It was one of the worst tornadoes to ever hit central Ontario, and, in fact, there hasn’t been a tornado as strong as the ones that hit Barrie and Grand Valley since that day.