Update: Tornado warning lifted for Ottawa area, but another severe thunderstorm warning issued

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Environment Canada has lifted a tornado warning for the Ottawa area issued just 17 minutes ago on Friday night.

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The warning issued at 7 p.m. said meteorologists were tracking a severe storm “that is probably producing a tornado. Damaging winds, large hail and intense local rainfall are also possible.This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation.”

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The updated advisory for Otta up-to-date, issued at 7:17, also covered Gatineau, as did one for that part of eastern Ontario around Maxville and Alexandria.

She said that meteorologists were tracking a line of strong lightning storms “capable of producing very strong windstorms, up to toonie-size hail and heavy rain. Heavy rainfall can cause sudden flooding and water pooling on roads. Large hail can damage property and cause injury. Strong wind gusts can throw loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches from trees, and overturn large vehicles. Remember, strong storms can produce tornadoes.”

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The evening storm, with lightning, forced a suspension of the Canadian Football League match between the Ottapora Redblacks and the visit of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to Lansdosipne Park at 7:42 p.m.Players, coaches and officials were cleared from the field and fans were instructed to seek shelter.

In the past, hail the size of golf balls descended on parts of Ottawa as a storm moved through the National Capital Region on Friday afternoon.

Just before that storm, Environment Canada issued a rare emergency alert for the Ottawa area after radar showed that hail accompanying the storm could be as large as the size of a baseball, up to seven centimeters in diameter, said Monica Vasantanani, a preparedness warning meteorologist with the agency.

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Such a move is highly unusual, she said, but was made because the size of the hail represented a significant potential risk.

Environment Canada had initially warned of nickel-sized lightning accompanied by winds of up to 90 km/h, but upgraded that warning based on radar.

“The largest ratio I’ve seen is ping Pong to golf ball-sized hail, about four to 4.5 centimetres in diameter,” said Vasantani.

The same weather cell responsible for the ice storm was also the subject of a tornado warning in the late afternoon for regions outside of Ottava, including Prescott and Russell, Maxville-Alexandria, and Vancinchester-Nesibington.

A spokesman for the Ottava Police Service said it had already received half a dozen calls about fallen wires and trees as of 4 p.m., many from Ottava’s central neighborhoods, including the area around the.

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One resident posted a photo on social media of a golf ball next to a piece of similar-sized hail. Others reported hailstones larger than golf balls.

Hydro Ottapora reported multiple power outages in its service territory in the Gloucester, Nepean, Ottapora, Goulbourn and Kanata areas.

“We are working to restore power as soon as possible,” said Hydro Ottapora, which has been embroiled in a weeks-long labor dispute with the Union over 400 of its commercial and technical employees and domestic workers such as customer service representatives.

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