11/05/2026
Twisters touched down in the area over a 24 hour period on August 27 and 28, 1990, as reported by The Age Dispatch’s issue of September 6, 1990.
Komoka Community Church on County Road 14 was reduced to rubble with a lot of pieces of the roof, the pulpit and pink insulation clinging to the downed evergreen trees discovered behind the house across the road. The home owned by Shirley and Bob McDougall was also devasted in the storm. The century-old trees lining the one side of the home were all sheared off, while the majority of the house windows had been blown out. The couple’s vehicle was crushed by a tree during the storm.
On Wednesday morning, Bob and Shirley, along with the help of a number of friends were clearing their possessions from the house to move to a new location. Through tears, Shirley said “We are lucky we didn’t lose any furniture or clothing. The knick knacks that were destroyed are ones that should have been put in a garage sale years ago. We didn’t lose anything that was sentimental. Several years ago, my son gave me a big glass birthday card. It was knocked over, but it was not broken.”
The couple was at home when the storm hit, but were not injured. Bob had been watching the clouds move across the sky through the front window and yelled to his wife to get to the basement. “It was just like a bomb, it’s disastrous,” said Gwen Long, a friend of the McDougalls. “We’ve had tornado warnings before, but I never thought anything would ever come of it for this area,” added Mrs. Long.
Church items were also being salvaged from the site. Several people were assisting with the cleanup efforts on Wednesday morning. Hymnals were being picked out of the rubble while others were yet to be found in a distant corn field and almost back to a gravel pit.
A number of the bricks that were in reasonably good condition were to be kept for use in the reconstruction of the building. The foundation is remaining but it was still unknown if there was water damage. “There are puddles down there,” said church member Faye Cates. Faye said she just couldn’t believe it. “My husband had followed the fire trucks and when he came back he said, “your church is gone.. What do you mean the church is gone? Where did it go?”, Faye questioned.
The whole thing was over so quick. “We saw the storm coming and went to the basement. We were not down there very long until the storm passed. The worst part was over in about five minutes,” commented Faye.
There were no serious injuries caused during the storm. “We are thankful nobody was hurt. Buildings can be replaced, but people can’t,” said Faye. As Christians we just take one day at a time.”
Despite the tragedy of the destruction of the church, Faye said she was grateful it happened when it did and not the week before. “There was a lot of activity in the church the week of August 20 with the Vacation Bible School program operating with about 40-45 kids participating,” she added.
“People of the community have responded positively with whatever aid they could provide, be it financial or storage facilities,” stated Faye.
In the town of Komoka, a sun room display on an 18 foot trailer was lifted and turned over, The interesting thing is, according to the owner, it is in the exact same spot as it was, only upside down.
During the inclement weather on Monday night, a small twister touched down in the Fernhill area. It may have been smaller, but it was no less devastating for those victims of the weather. A home on the East Williams/Lobo townline had the top floor taken off and large gaping hole was all that was left of the one half of the barn’s roof. The home appeared to be nothing more than an abandoned shell of a residence on Tuesday morning.
In addition to the destruction of buildings, there was vast destruction done to area trees. A large number of trees were uprooted and large limbs knocked down across roadways. According to Stan Calow, Lobo Township road superintendent there was no major damage to the roads but it will take about two and a half days with a five-man crew to clean up the debris. There was also a washout reported on River Road.
In the 24-hour period 32 mm of rainfall was recorded at Strathmere Lodge by Harry Marshall, local climatologist. However, with this type of storm, the amount of precipitation will vary with the area. Twisters are not common to this area.
Ontario Hydro was forced to bring in three more crews from outside the area to deal with the damages. As of Friday, Bruno Ciccotelli, Ontario Hydro Strathroy area manager said it was still too early to determine the cost of the repairs. “Since the storm hit, we have had crews working night and day. I can’t tell you the specific costs, but I can tell you it will be a pretty penny,” Mr. Ciccotelli predicted. The local damage was not as extensive as that which occurred in Frome. In Frome there were six hydro towers lost.
Do you remember this tornado?
