Powerful microburst causes ‘truly shocking’ damage to western P.E.I. home

After thunderstorms hit Prince Edward Island on Thursday, a West Prince couple came home from work to an unpleasant surprise.

The wind had torn the new privacy wall off their deck and thrown it across the yard, bouncing off their roof and hitting a tree in the process. Their patio furniture was strewn everywhere and a glass-topped table had been broken.

“Everything was picked up and destroyed,” said Paula Smith, who lives in the Campbellton home, west of Mill River, with her husband Charles.

“It was quite a thing to see – how everything could be so quiet when we left the house and completely destroyed when we got home from work.”

This pile of broken wood is what remains of Paula and Charles Smith’s new privacy wall, after a powerful wind known as a microburst ravaged their backyard in Prince County, Island. Prince Edward, Thursday. (Submitted by Charles Smith)

Smith said her husband arrived home before her and got the first glimpse of the damage, which was worse than anything recent hurricanes had caused.

“I called him when I was leaving work and he said, ‘You need to prepare for what you’re going to see,'” she said.

Charles Smith said they could tell the privacy wall had blown over the house because of how the roof was damaged.

The flying wall also removed some bark from the tree it hit.

Patio furniture from the deck was strewn across the lawn when the Smiths came home from work. (Submitted by Charles Smith)

The Smiths are waiting to hear back from their insurance company regarding coverage. They’ve already hired the same crew that built the privacy wall just a month ago to come back and rebuild it.

Levi Gaudet, who works with RLM Construction Services and helped build the wall, said it was “disheartening” to see it torn apart.

“It’s really, really shocking,” he said of the extent of the damage to the house.

He said the privacy wall was framed with two-by-eight lumber, but it was still no match for the wind hitting it.

Paula Smith says she’s grateful she and her family weren’t home during the microburst. (Stacey Janzer/CBC)

“A little surprised to see it…broken in two,” he said.

Gaudet was working only about 20 minutes from the Smiths’ property Thursday and had heard thunder, but said there was no rain and very little wind where he was.

Looking for an answer

Curious about what could have caused the isolated damage, the Smiths called Environment Canada, which confirmed it was a weather phenomenon known as a microburst, a powerful wind associated with a severe thunderstorm.

This happens when cooler air in a thunderstorm cloud hits the ground and spreads as strong wind in a straight line, said Jay Scotland, a meteorologist with CBC PEI.

This radar image from Thursday afternoon shows the microburst that caused damage to the Smiths’ property in Campbellton, Prince Edward Island. (Jay Scotland/CBC)

“Microbursts and downbursts can be very destructive, and they are sometimes confused with tornadoes,” Scotland said.

“The main difference is that damage from a microburst tends to be less erratic than a tornado, with objects and debris typically thrown in a more uniform direction.”

Smith said she’s grateful they weren’t home during the storm and no one was hurt, especially since her grandchildren come over to play at the house all the time.

“I wondered…if they were in the yard when this happened, what would have happened?” Smith said.

“I know it’s probably a weird thing and won’t happen again, but it makes you a little uncomfortable.”