Environment Canada has issued a severe weather watch for parts of southern Ontario. A tornado watch is in effect for the following areas: A severe thunderstorm is pushing across Lake Huron and is expected to reach the Lake Huron shores within the next hour. A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Woodstock, Tillsonburg, and Oxford County. Conditions within the region are favourable for this thunderstorm to possibly produce tornadoes as well as strong and potentially damaging winds. Significant damage or destruction to infrastructure, homes and the natural environment is possible. Hazards: CTV London meteorologist Julie Atchison said the atmosphere is primed for severe weather, with high humidity, abundant moisture and shifting winds creating the ingredients needed for powerful thunderstorms. “The atmosphere is loaded with moisture and humidity, and winds are changing direction as you move higher in the atmosphere,” Atchison said. “That creates the potential for rotation within some of these storms.” A cold front moving through the region is expected to act as the trigger for storm development during the afternoon and early evening hours. How widespread and intense the storms become will depend in part on how much sunshine breaks through existing cloud cover. “The more sunshine we see this afternoon, the more energy there will be available for thunderstorm development,” Atchison said.
