SHERBURNE, Ontario, April 19 (UPI) -- The storm that struck Shelburne, Ontario, was a tornado, Environment Canada officials confirmed Friday.
The Thursday evening twister caused no injuries in the town of under 6,000 people 62 miles northwest of Toronto but decimated a large indoor riding arena, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
John Purdie, owner of the structure destroyed by the tornado, said there was "a really strange sky" before the storm hit.
"The horses in the field started to run around like crazy, so my wife went out to bring those horses in," he said. "Within about 3 minutes of that there was driving rain here, you couldn't even see the road.
"The rain was coming sideways. There was a loud boom it turns out it was the indoor riding arena, which was built in 2000. It's 100 feet by 70. It took it out of there like it was a twig."
