Southern Ontario was affected by severe thunderstorms on Thursday, causing widespread damage and killing at least one person.

The string of storms, which included several suspected tornadoes, moved from east to west at a destructive pace causing Environment Canada to advise citizens to take shelter in basements or other secure areas.

One fatality has been reported. An eleven year old boy who was camping with his family at the Durham Conservation Area campground has died due to the storms.

Durham is one of the sites of suspected tornado activity.

Other major damage in Durham includes a printing facility which was destroyed and a fitness center which had its roof torn off. The area is under a state of emergency today.

Vaughan, Ont., located just north of Toronto is also under a state of emergency and at least one tornado is thought to have touched down in the area. Millions of dollars of damage have been reported by Vaughan Mayor Linda Jackson. Estimates are that upwards of 175 houses in the town have sustained serious structural damage.

Environment Canada is deploying crews to several communities in southern Ontario today to assess damage and determine if sightings of funnel clouds were tornadoes.

More than 20,000 Hydro One customers remain without power in the affected areas, which also include Milton, Newmarket and Markdale. Toronto authorities fielded hundreds of call of downed trees and flooded roadways, but the most extensive destruction seems to have occurred to the north of the city.

The intense storm activity was attributed to a deep trough of low pressure west of the Great Lakes combined with a warm, humid air mass over southern Ontario and wind sheer.

Prime Minster Stephen Harper announce that the federal government will assist provincial and municipal authorities in addressing the aftermath of the storms.

With the humidity factored in it will feel closer to 40.

The GTA remains under a smog advisory and the city’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David McKeown has issued a heat alert.

During a heat alert, the public is encouraged to call or visit family, friends, and neighbours, especially isolated adults and seniors, who are at risk of suffering from heat-related illness, to make sure they are fine.

There are some good ways to help beat the heat.

*Drink lots of water and natural food juices.
*Go to air conditioned places, including shopping malls or local libraries or community centres.
*Stay out of the sun
*Reduce strenuous physical exercise especially between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Toronto should get a break from the high humidity by Wednesday when a cold front approaches Southern Ontario.

The humidity by the way stays with us tomorrow but we’ll get some relief on Wednesday when a cold front comes our way.

City of Toronto, Halton – Peel, Pickering – Oshawa and southern Durham region.

Over regions extending from Windsor and Chatham to Toronto and east to the regions north of Lake Ontario to Kingston, the winds combined with a cold arctic air mass will produce wind chill values near minus 30 this evening or early Saturday morning.

Westerly winds will range from 20 to 30 km/h in the warned regions.

Southeastern states have come together to declare state of emergencies, as officials have urged those on the coast to go inland on Thursday.

Tropical Storm Hanna is heading up the Atlantic coast, and it is believed that it will slam into the northeast this coming weekend.

Heavy rain and wind is expected to start early on Friday in the south.

Warnings have been issued up thw entire Altantic coast from Georgia to Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Officials have not ordered people to leave their homes, but are urging them to get inland.

State of emergencies have been declared in both Virginia and North Carolina.

Washington – The death toll from Hurricane Gustav continues to rise, as 22 people have been confirmed to have died as of Wednesday night from the storm.

Hurricane Gustav slammed into Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, causing severe flooding and landslides.

The major storm, which turned into a Category 1 hurricane on Monday, hit Haiti on Tuesday.

U.S. forecasters now state that the hurricane could dump over 10 inches of rain in areas of the southeastern U.S.

The winds of Gustav dropped from 95 mph to 60 mph on Wednesday, but it is believed that it will become a hurricane again soon.

Gustav has been blamed for 14 deaths in Haiti, and at least 8 in the Dominican Republic.

Toronto- Part of the first round of seasonal thunderstorms is predicted to hit south and central Ontario this weekend.

Humidity is predicted to soar and the transition from spring to summer will take a big jump this year, as a series of severe thunderstorms is predicted to pass along the region throughout the weekend and early into next week.

Thundershowers are predicted for Friday night and expected to continue on into Monday, as the region undergoes the change from temperate spring like weather to the more hot summer season, along with its accompanying humidity.

The reason for the increased abruptness of the change is believed to be a warm front that is crossing the nation across the south of Ontario.

The forecast calls for sun but the development of thunderstorms across the area is nearly a sure thing with the conditions that are expected.

The region may experience some relief as a cold front is expected to make its eventual way across the area on Sunday and Monday sweeping the conditions that create the thundershowers and severe weather aside.

The normal high temperature for this date is 23C but today’s high is expected to be nearly ten degrees above that at 32C.

Newport – One of the more pristine area of the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon Coast has long been known for its quiet Pacific charm. But much of that charm is caught up in mystery.

What is causing the rash of earthquakes that is being experienced?

There have been nearly 600 small earthquakes in a region of about 350 kilometres off the coast of Yachats. These earthquakes have been small, registering about 2 or 3 on the magnitude scale, but a few of them have been larger, registering 4 or 5.

These quakes have posed no threat, as they have not caused any rapid water movement nor have they posed any danger to coastal residents. The quakes are coming from the middle of a magma plate, the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate. This is unusual because most of the time the action of plates rubbing against each other is what causes earthquakes.

The Pacific plate, for example, grinds against the southern edge of the Juan de Fuca plate at the famous San Andreas Fault in California. That is where most of the earthquakes in the Pacific Region normally come from, not from the middle of a plate.

Swarms of earthquakes of this nature tend to indicate volcanic activity, But much has to be learned about how plate tectonics affect the earth, and these earthquakes may be one element of that learning.

Brampton – Environment Canada issued a Winter storm Warning for Southern Ontario. Up to 30 centimeters expected to blanket Toronto by the end of this week.

Cancellations

• The Peel District School Board is cancelling all permits at all sites for Saturday, March 8, 2008.
• All adult English as a Second Language classes and Literacy and Basic Skills classes for Saturday, March 8 have been cancelled at the Brampton and Bramalea campuses.
• All adult English as a Second Language classes and Literacy and Basic Skills classes for Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9 have been cancelled at the Mississauga campus.
• All Sugar Bush activities at the Jack Smythe Field Centre have been cancelled for Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9.
• Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College will be closed on Saturday and Sunday, including clinics and continuing education classes
• George Brown has cancelled its weekend continuing education classes because of the approaching winter storm.

Ottawa – It is preparing to be perhaps the largest single day snowfall in the history of Ontario. With a record 50 centimetres in the forecast, the snowfall being anticipated could break the previous single day snowfall record that was set for the province in 1947.

The group Environment Canada is reporting that the storm that is in the forecast is expected to start sometime on Friday, and snow is expected somewhere up to 48 hours, ending sometime on Sunday. The storm is expected to bring at least 30 and at many as 50 centimetres of the white stuff on parts of central and eastern Ontario, from Petawawa to Long Point, and even parts of the Niagara Peninsula area.

The weather agency warns that the storm track is variable, and it could go either way. The previous record for a single day snowfall was set on March 2nd, 1947 when nearly 41 centimetres fell in a single day.

The storm is expected to strike in two stages, starting on Friday with flurries, which will change into snow over night Friday. After a small lull, the main force of the storm is expected to his midday Saturday.

Strong winds are expected, up to 60 km per hour and gusts even higher, so conditions will be dismal for the traveler.

Buses

• Toronto Catholic District School Board
• Toronto School Board
• Durham District and Catholic School
• Dufferin-Peel Catholic District and Peel District
• Dufferin-Peel French Catholic School Board
• York Region Catholic and Public School
• Halton Catholic and Public Schools
• Tannenbaumchat Kimmel Campus – Buses cancelled but he school is open
• MacLachlan College in Oakville

Schools

• Brampton Christian School
• Holy Trinity School in Richmond Hill
• Country Day School in King City
• Holland Marsh Christian School
• John Knox Christian School in Brampton closed, but parent teacher interviews will go on.
• Mississauga Private School in Etobicoke
• Willowdale Christian School
• King’s Christian Collegiate in Oakville
• Scarborough Christian School
• Georgetown District Christian School
• Toronto Waldorf School in Thornhill
• The Montessori Country School in Nobleton
• St. Mildred’s Lightbourn School in Oakville
• Montessori Country School in Nobleton
• Khalsa Community School
• Oakville Christian School
• Toronto District School Board’s Elementary Girl’s Volleyball Championships at Ryerson are cancelled

Colleges & Academies

• TEAM School and Mentor College in Mississauga
• Canadian Therapeutic College and Canadian College of Dental Health in Burlington – classes and public clinics cancelled.
• Trios College in Mississauga
• Blyth Academy Thornhill will be closed today
• Canada Christian Academy in Brampton
• TALK Academy in Burlington and Oakville
• MacLachlan College in Oakville is closed
• Queensway Christian College in Etobicoke
• Froebel Education Centre
• Wildwood Academy in Oakville
• Progressive Montessori Academy in Stouffville
• Seneca College King Campus closed today but all other campuses remain open.

Servics

• Caledon Community Services has cancelled all transportation today…
• Paratransit passengers will be serviced by TransHelp today (for essential rides only)
• Meals on Wheels in Brampton
• Meals on Wheels in Mississauga Cancelled.

Travel

• GO Train Delays