Tornado touches down in Kawartha Lakes

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

KAWARTHA LAKES: Environment Canada has confirmed that a tornado landed in the City of Kawartha Lakes, on Tuesday, June 23rd. “Videos and pictures via social media, received by the Ontario Storm Prediction Centre, confirm a tornado occurred today at Sturgeon Lake, around 3 p.m., and tracked north through Sturgeon Point and likely north beyond this,” read a statement from Environment Canada. Among those affected by this tornado was local Kawartha Lakes singer Madison Kozak. “So thankful nobody was hurt. Can’t say the same for our boathouse,” Ms. Kozak wrote, in a Twitter post. She explained further in another post. “It hit our dock. Our boathouse roof has been torn off, but everyone is safe.” During a telephone press conference, on Wednesday, June 24th, Kawartha Lakes Mayor Andy Letham reacted to the news of the tornado. “Obviously nobody was hurt, so that’s always good news,” Mayor Letham said. “It’s happened before and I’m sure it’ll happen again. I’m just glad it wasn’t worse than what it was.”