Latest news with #DavidSills
CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Sask. has seen more tornadoes this year than the rest of Canada combined: tracking project
So far this year, 17 tornadoes have touched down in Saskatchewan, according to a Western University-based tornado tracking project — 10 of which hit the province in a single day. The tornadoes have all been reported in south and central parts of the province, with the majority recorded in the areas between Estevan and Saskatoon, according to the Northern Tornadoes Project, a research project based at the London, Ont., university that tracks tornado activity across Canada. David Sills, the director of the Northern Tornadoes Project, said 12 of those tornadoes touched down during a three-day span, from June 19-21. Of those, 10 were confirmed on June 19, and two from June 21. Those came after two tornadoes touched down near Cut Knife on June 2, and were followed by another tornado on June 29 near Stockholm, in eastern Saskatchewan. Two of the June 19 tornadoes were rated EF-2 on the enhanced Fujita scale, and three others were rated EF-1. "These are strong tornadoes that are capable of ripping a rooftop, a home," said Sills. RAW | Man shares video of tornado he says touched down briefly near Balgonie, Sask. 25 days ago Duration 0:21 Harrison Webster shared this video with CBC News and said he saw a tornado touch down near Balgonie, east of Regina, Thursday afternoon. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued several tornado warnings for parts of Saskatchewan late afternoon on June 19. The others were rated EF-0, which indicates sustained wind of 105 to 137 km/h, and a tornado capable of causing light damage, like snapping or uprooting trees. On average, from 2017 to 2024, Saskatchewan has seen about 14 tornadoes a year, according to the tornado projects data, but the number can range widely. There were 26 reported tornadoes in Saskatchewan in 2022, but only one in 2023. Last year, there were 19. So far this year, Saskatchewan has seen more tornadoes than the 13 reported in the rest of the country combined, according to the project's data. There have been four each in Alberta and Quebec, two each in Manitoba and Ontario, and one in B.C. this year, according to the tracking project. "It feels like this is Saskatchewan kind of reasserting itself and saying, 'yeah, tornadoes do happen here, and sometimes they're the big ones,'" Sills said. There have been no fatalities associated with any confirmed tornadoes in Canada so far this year, Sills said. Although it's not uncommon to see multiple tornadoes in one day, Sills said the number in Saskatchewan on June 19 was the biggest tornado outbreak he's seen since starting the Northern Tornadoes Project in 2017. The June 19 tornadoes included an EF-1 in the Blackstrap Lake area, south of Saskatoon, and an EF-0 in Young, southwest of Saskatoon. The others were in the province's southeast: Two in Frobisher (including an EF-2). Two in Kronau (including an EF-2). An EF-1 in South Touchwood. An EF-1 in Hubbard. One in Vibank. One in Hirsch. Sills said it was a stroke of luck that one of the homes hit by a tornado had special bracing in place. "That actually prevented the roof from coming up. It's good to see that some folks are taking those kinds of precautions," he said. Although there's no exact meteorological reason why Saskatchewan has received this many tornadoes, periods of extreme heat have played a factor, said Sills. "That's based on timing of frontal systems as they move across and whether that timing coincides with the peak heating for the day, where that peak heating occurs. So it's just a matter of some coincidence." Hubbard twister tore trees out Kayla Chamberlin and her partner, Shawn Hanofski, said they saw a tornado touch down in the yard of their rural home near Hubbard, Sask., about 115 kilometres northeast of Regina, on June 19. Hanofski said he couldn't believe their house was still standing after the tornado passed through. Chamberlain was shocked too. "You could hear things being smacked up against the house," she said. Their home suffered slight damage, like shingles being ripped off their roof. But the couple said the real damage was to farm equipment and to the land, with entire trees being ripped out of the ground. Sills said June and July are typically peak tornado season and that things should calm down into next month. "The numbers actually start to decline typically as we get into August, and then come the fall, it pretty much shuts down on the prairies. Hopefully we've seen the peak and we'll tail off now."
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Sask. has seen more tornadoes this year than the rest of Canada combined: tracking project
So far this year, 17 tornadoes have touched down in Saskatchewan, according to a Western University-based tornado tracking project — 10 of which hit the province in a single day. The tornadoes have all been reported in south and central parts of the province, with the majority recorded in the areas between Estevan and Saskatoon, according to the Northern Tornadoes Project, a research project based at the London, Ont., university that tracks tornado activity across Canada. David Sills, the director of the Northern Tornadoes Project, said 12 of those tornadoes touched down during a three-day span, from June 19-21. Of those, 10 were confirmed on June 19, and two from June 21. Those came after two tornadoes touched down near Cut Knife on June 2, and were followed by another tornado on June 29 near Stockholm, in eastern Saskatchewan. Two of the June 19 tornadoes were rated EF-2 on the enhanced Fujita scale, and three others were rated EF-1. "These are strong tornadoes that are capable of ripping a rooftop, a home," said Sills. WATCH | Witness says tornado touched down near Balgonie on June 19: The others were rated EF-0, which indicates sustained wind of 105 to 137 km/h, and a tornado capable of causing light damage, like snapping or uprooting trees. On average, from 2017 to 2024, Saskatchewan has seen about 14 tornadoes a year, according to the tornado projects data, but the number can range widely. There were 26 reported tornadoes in Saskatchewan in 2022, but only one in 2023. Last year, there were 19. So far this year, Saskatchewan has seen more tornadoes than the 13 reported in the rest of the country combined, according to the project's data. There have been four each in Alberta and Quebec, two each in Manitoba and Ontario, and one in B.C. this year, according to the tracking project. "It feels like this is Saskatchewan kind of reasserting itself and saying, 'yeah, tornadoes do happen here, and sometimes they're the big ones,'" Sills said. There have been no fatalities associated with any confirmed tornadoes in Canada so far this year, Sills said. Although it's not uncommon to see multiple tornadoes in one day, Sills said the number in Saskatchewan on June 19 was the biggest tornado outbreak he's seen since starting the Northern Tornadoes Project in 2017. The June 19 tornadoes included an EF-1 in the Blackstrap Lake area, south of Saskatoon, and an EF-0 in Young, southwest of Saskatoon. The others were in the province's southeast: Two in Frobisher (including an EF-2). Two in Kronau (including an EF-2). An EF-1 in South Touchwood. An EF-1 in Hubbard. One in Vibank. One in Hirsch. Sills said it was a stroke of luck that one of the homes hit by a tornado had special bracing in place. "That actually prevented the roof from coming up. It's good to see that some folks are taking those kinds of precautions," he said. Although there's no exact meteorological reason why Saskatchewan has received this many tornadoes, periods of extreme heat have played a factor, said Sills. "That's based on timing of frontal systems as they move across and whether that timing coincides with the peak heating for the day, where that peak heating occurs. So it's just a matter of some coincidence." Kayla Chamberlin and her partner, Shawn Hanofski, said they saw a tornado touch down in the yard of their rural home near Hubbard, Sask., about 115 kilometres northeast of Regina, on June 19. Hanofski said he couldn't believe their house was still standing after the tornado passed through. Chamberlain was shocked too. "You could hear things being smacked up against the house," she said. Their home suffered slight damage, like shingles being ripped off their roof. But the couple said the real damage was to farm equipment and to the land, with entire trees being ripped out of the ground. Sills said June and July are typically peak tornado season and that things should calm down into next month. "The numbers actually start to decline typically as we get into August, and then come the fall, it pretty much shuts down on the prairies. Hopefully we've seen the peak and we'll tail off now."
CTV News
10-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Funnel cloud spotted over Mitchell, Ont. on Thursday
People in Mitchell, Ont. may have been surprised to see a funnel cloud in the sky on Thursday afternoon. Dr. David Sills, the director of the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University, said it happened as a system moved across the community. 'Sometimes a weak vortex can be produced as a cloud is rapidly growing,' he told CTV News. 'If the resulting storm is strong enough, that vortex can reach tornadic strength, but any resulting damage would be highly localized and usually rate EF0 or EF1. These are known as 'landspout' tornadoes.' The funnel cloud above Mitchell, however, resulted from a rain shower and not a thunderstorm. 'The vortex was likely far too weak at ground level to be considered even an EF0 tornado,' Sills said, adding that there was no damage reported. Even though it was more of a curiosity than a concern, the funnel cloud will be added to a database compiled by the Northern Tornadoes Project. Sills said they keep track of funnel cloud sightings over land.
CTV News
01-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Twister touched down near Lucan on Monday, confirms Northern Tornadoes Project
The Northern Tornadoes Project has confirmed a small tornado touched down Monday near Lucan, Ont. Environment Canada issued a warning around 3:50 p.m. for the areas of Stratford, Mitchell, southern Perth County and London. The agency said its meteorologists had been tracking a severe thunderstorm with the potential to produce a twister. The warning was called off less than 10 minutes later. While no injuries were reported, the sudden storm left behind some minor damage to trees and crops. Tornado lucan ontario Damage to a tree, believed to be from a tornado, near Lucan, Ont. on June 30, 2025. (Source: Northern Tornadoes Project) 'I saw the funnel and I heard it,' Brenda Hawkins told CTV News London. 'All the debris, all the old tins, everything was flying in the air.' Dr. David Sills, NTP's director, said he reviewed videos of the funnel cloud and did an initial survey at Airport Drive and Saintsbury Line. He has given the tornado a preliminary EF0 rating. Sills said a full ground and drone survey will be conducted Tuesday to determine the twister's path and any additional damage it caused.
CBC
02-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Manitoba's 1st tornado of 2025 recorded southeast of Niverville
Social Sharing Tornado season started in Manitoba this week with the first one touching down just southeast of Niverville, says an Ontario lab that tracks all tornadoes in Canada. It was weak but it's still "a bona fide tornado," said David Sills, director of the Northern Tornadoes Project, based at Western University in London, Ont. Officially, the Northern Tornadoes Project classifies it as a landspout-type tornado, which means its rotation couldn't be detected on satellite radar. It occurred around 5 p.m., about eight kilometres southeast of Niverville (about 35 kilometres south of Winnipeg) over a bare farm field. Soil from the field gently rotated in the spout. The tornadoes project received numerous reports from Manitoba with video and photos from multiple angles, Sills said. "Apparently the visibility was very good, because people were seeing it from miles away — lots of eyes on that one," he said. "Thankfully it just was brief. It didn't go very far." The tornadoes project will study high-resolution satellite imagery to get an estimate of the distance the tornado travelled. "Someone that was on the ground and was close by gave us an estimated track, so we'll be using that to look for evidence," Sills said. "Once we have a track, we can include that with the data on our dashboard." The tornado was given a default rating on the enhanced Fujita scale of EF0. That means there was no significant damage and wind speeds, though weaker, were at least 90 kilometres per hour. "You can't really see that kind of rotation on radar, so that's why we call these landspout-type tornadoes," Sills said. "When we start getting into more severe storms … those are the kind where you can actually see the storm itself rotating, and that can get picked up on radar, and forecasters can use that to help forecast the onset of the tornado." Landspout tornadoes aren't easy to forecast because they are "more or less randomly occurring around thunderstorms," he said. "And the most you'll usually get is an EF2, but most of them are EF0 or EF1." Environment Canada warning preparedness meteorologist Natalie Hassell said the national weather agency agrees with the tornadoes project researchers that an EF0 tornado touched down. It might not have been spawned from the storms in the area, which were quite small, she said. It appears the funnel cloud, which turned into the landspout, just formed from a low pressure system and cold front. "Both of these things would certainly be enough to start the vertical motion," she said. "In this case, the rotating column was visible as cloud formed in it, so we could actually see a funnel cloud and then see that it touched the ground." The first tornado of the year in Canada occurred April 12 north of Rolling Hills, Alta. It is also listed as an EF0. The tornadoes project is also investigating a potential one in Quebec from storms on the 29th. "So this one [in Manitoba] would actually be the third tornado documented in Canada this season," Sill said. "This is the time of year where the ingredients start to come together for tornadoes. Thankfully they've all been weak so far, nothing really substantial." But southern Manitoba is about to head straight into a sudden onset of summer-like weather, with temperatures of 25 C to 28 C forecast starting on Saturday. "It's those warm air masses that can lead to thunderstorms and potentially tornadoes if if the conditions are right," Sills said. "So this is the time of year when everybody needs to be more vigilant about watches and warnings and keeping an eye out when those are issued to make sure you stay out of trouble." The average number of tornadoes document in Manitoba per year, based on a 30-year average, is 8½. Saskatchewan, by comparison, sees 14½, and Ontario gets 18½. Canada's largest recorded tornado in history, however, occurred in Manitoba during the evening of June 22, 2007. The Elie tornado carried wind speeds estimated at between 420 km/h and 510 km/h and lasted about 40 minutes. It travelled about six kilometres, mostly through fields, but caused significant damage in the community of Elie, about 45 kilometres west of Winnipeg. It remains the only EF5 tornado ever recorded in Canada.
