When Lynn Smith set out for a routine trip from her home in Halfmoon Bay to Sechelt on British Columbia香蕉视频直播檚 Sunshine Coast on Monday, she turned on her camera to send a video to a cousin who lives in the United States.

Smith 香蕉视频直播渏okingly started recording香蕉视频直播� to show her relative the 香蕉视频直播渂eautiful day香蕉视频直播� she was having with pouring rain and strong winds, stormy weather that seems normal for where she lives.

香蕉视频直播淲e have a generator for that very reason,香蕉视频直播� Smith noted.

When she got onto the road though, Smith said trees started coming down 香蕉视频直播渓ike dominoes香蕉视频直播� in the high winds and she knew something wasn香蕉视频直播檛 right.

香蕉视频直播淭hen I香蕉视频直播檓 in a moment, I香蕉视频直播檓 thinking this is tornado-like,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淎nd little did I know it was in fact a tornado.香蕉视频直播�

Western University香蕉视频直播檚 Northern Tornadoes Project, which tracks storm damage events across Canada, confirmed that what Smith captured on video during the windstorms that hit much of the B.C. coast was a tornado, with wind speeds of 115 km/h.

The footage from her car shows winds whipping up forest debris as a tree falls across the road and she gasps in disbelief.

香蕉视频直播淢y husband was born and raised on the coast,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淗e香蕉视频直播檚 never seen anything like this and we香蕉视频直播檝e got neighbours that have been in the Halfmoon Bay area all their lives and they said they香蕉视频直播檝e never seen anything like this.香蕉视频直播�

Smith said she was worried someone was injured and called 911 when she turned around, flashing her lights at oncoming traffic to warn them of the downed trees.

Northern Tornadoes Project executive director David Sills said the team is still awaiting satellite imagery data on the tornado event.

Sills said when he first saw the footage of Monday香蕉视频直播檚 storm in B.C., he thought it was just showing damage from a large storm.

香蕉视频直播淏ut then it was clear that there was rotation associated with the damage that was being caused,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淪o, we looked into it further, we collected some other videos that have been taken and managed to identify a narrow path of damage and so we classified it as a tornado.香蕉视频直播�

Sills said it ranked the lowest on the scale measuring tornado strength, but the team will get a more precise reading on size and strength when it gets the satellite information.

The Sechelt tornado is only the second recorded by the project in B.C. this year, after one that occurred over Mabel Lake in the B.C. Interior in August.

香蕉视频直播淭his one seemed to be associated with a thunderstorm that came roaring through from the northwest, that香蕉视频直播檚 a bit unusual, especially this time of year,香蕉视频直播� he said, referring to the Sunshine Coast twister.

香蕉视频直播淭here have been other events in November in that area with tornadoes and even later than this one, so while tornadoes are rare out there, it香蕉视频直播檚 not as unheard of as some people might think.香蕉视频直播�

Sills said 2022 saw 129 tornadoes in Canada, the most in one year, but that number dropped down to 86 in 2023, 香蕉视频直播渁 big fire year香蕉视频直播� with lots of smoke that may have had an impact.

He said there have been 109 tornadoes recorded in Canada this year, and the country has seen an average of 101 tornadoes annually since 2017.

BC Hydro spokeswoman Mora Scott said Monday香蕉视频直播檚 windstorm was a 香蕉视频直播渧ery significant event,香蕉视频直播� knocking out power to approximately 290,000 customers.

Scott said there were lots of downed trees and debris on roads, especially on the Sunshine Coast, where crews had to clear debris before tackling the task of restoring power.

She said Monday香蕉视频直播檚 storm is the fourth most damaging storm event in the last decade.

After Smith put her camera down, more trees fell 香蕉视频直播渓ike toothpicks香蕉视频直播� as she made her getaway. She said she returned home to no power and her home generator isn香蕉视频直播檛 hooked up to the garage door.

Smith was in her garage up a 10-foot-ladder dealing with the door and fell, injuring her foot. An ambulance made it to her, but then it couldn香蕉视频直播檛 get through to the hospital because of fallen trees.

The storm tried to get her twice, she joked.