Weather experts confirm tornado touched down in Lucan during Monday's storm

Weather experts at Western University have officially classified the storm that struck Lucan, Ont. Monday as a tornado.

New details were released following a preliminary ground survey by researchers with the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) who looked at the damaged to a farm property, trees and crops.

"Thankfully, no one was injured by flying debris on the highway," David Sills from NTP said.

The tornado first struck a set of sheds southwest of Lucan, according to Sills, tearing off the roof and blowing it into a field behind a nearby house.

The funnel cloud then entered a wheat field, moving toward Highway 4, where it damaged some trees.Finally, it made its way through a cornfield on the east side of the highway before dissipating.

NTP has since investigated the damage on the ground and more in-depth details will be released on Wednesday afternoon.

"The patterns that it left in the wheat field are going to be really interesting for us to study," Sills added, explaining that the patterns that tornadoes leave may be helpful in gauging intensity.

NTP classified the tornado as an EF0, which is the least severe classification on the Enhanced Fujita Scale used by meteorologists. The rating indicates wind speeds of 90 to 130 km/h, as well as minor damage inflicted on structures and vegetation.

Most tornadoes seen in the region receive this rating, but Sills stressed that they can still pose a threat.

"If you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you can still be badly injured," he said. "There was one south of London a few years ago where a two-by-four was put right through a restaurant wall, and that was an EF0 as well, so, any tornado is dangerous."

A tornado alert was sent to many cell phones on Monday afternoon across southwestern Ontario but the warning was withdrawn from the Environment Canada website 12 minutes later.