Environment Canada confirms 5 tornadoes touched down in Manitoba in recent storm

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Manitobans were lucky to escape a major storm that produced five confirmed tornadoes last week with no catastrophic damages and no injuries or deaths, an Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) meteorologist said. 

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“We are definitely relieved that the damage that was caused was relatively minor, and there were no reported injuries,” ECCC Meteorologist Natalie Hasell said on Friday, about a June 12 storm that entered Manitoba from Saskatchewan around 3:30 p.m. and led to tornado warnings in several Manitoba communities.  

ECCC says an investigation of the storm confirms that five tornadoes touched down in Manitoba, plus a sixth in Saskatchewan.  

The storm, which lasted approximately three hours and moved southeast for about 300 kilometres from Binscarth to the Morden-Winkler area, produced two tornadoes in the community of Rivers with assessments of EF0, one in Glenboro with an assessment of EF1, and two in St. Alphonse with EF0 and EF1 assessments. 

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According to Hasell, there could have been a lot more damage and possible injuries from the tornadoes had they touched down in more densely populated areas than they did.  

“We are lucky in that we have a lot of agricultural land in Manitoba, tornadoes aren’t always good for the farmers, but in terms of more expensive infrastructure and lost lives or injuries it’s a good thing we have a lot of wide open space,” Hasell said.  

And although all the tornadoes were assessed as either EF0 or EF1, Hasell warned that doesn’t mean they weren’t significant or dangerous, as she said ratings are based on assessed damage, and in some cases there is little or no damage to buildings or infrastructure, which makes it difficult to accurately assess actual wind speeds.   

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“If it goes through a field often there is nothing to measure based on our system so it is EF0 by default, but that same tornado could go through a populated area and cause a lot of damage and receive a higher assessment based on the damage,” she said.  

“It doesn’t mean it’s not strong, it sometimes just means it didn’t hit anything, and people should treat all tornadoes as potentially devastating.”  

The most significant damage from the storm was caused by one of the tornadoes in St. Alphonse, which Hazell said damaged a pow wow facility in the Swan Lake First Nation, as well as damage to a machine shed and grain bins on an agricultural property in the area.  

Hazel also warned we’re now in peak season for tornadoes in Manitoba, and she said all major thunderstorms and the possibility of tornadoes have the potential to be catastrophic, and people should know what to do if there is a tornado in their area that may be approaching.  

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“It’s the season, so anytime you see showers in the forecast those could include thunderstorms, and it’s pretty easy for those thunderstorms to become severe and that includes hail, rains, straight-line winds and the occasional tornado,” she said. “We issue watches and warnings, but thunderstorms can form in as little as 20 minutes, so there’s not always a lot of advance notice.  

“Whether you are inside a home, camping or in your car, everyone should have a plan for what to do if a tornado strikes so you aren’t wasting time making decisions, but instead just following the plan.” 

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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