Latest news with #DaveSills
CBC
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Team investigates reports of possible tornadoes near Winnipeg
Researchers are on the ground north and east of Winnipeg on Thursday scanning fields and forests for signs of damage after funnel cloud reports by storm chasers Wednesday. Members of the Northern Tornado Project headed to the Oakbank and Birds Hill areas on Thursday to investigate possible tornadoes that triggered warnings from Environment and Climate Change Canada on Wednesday night. "These turned out to be super cell thunderstorms ... that can generate the strongest tornadoes, so you have to take them seriously," said Dave Sills, director of the Northern Tornado Project. The project is headquartered at Western University in Ontario with collaborators in Manitoba and elsewhere. It works in collaboration with Environment Canada to investigate reports of tornado touchdowns across Canada. Meteorologist Scott Kehler, chief scientist with Weatherlogics, is confident there was at least one official touchdown. He headed out Wednesday night for a drive after seeing rotational patterns via radar that hinted at the possibility of a tornado. "These storms do develop very quickly, so you have to keep a close eye on what's going on," he said. "Quite a few chasers in the area were reporting that there were funnel clouds or areas of rotation seen with the storm." Kehler said he saw two funnel clouds himself, including one that dissipated as it moved east of Highway 206 on the east side of Birds Hill Provincial Park. He saw another between Dugald and Oakbank. "To my south I saw a funnel cloud, which was kind of between the Oakbank and Dugald, moving through some fields, so that one, I think ... will be confirmed as a tornado by the Northern Tornado Project," said Kehler. "As it passed through those fields, there were some signs of damage on the ground." Damaged land is one of the factors tornado researchers use to gauge whether or not a funnel cloud did touch down and become a tornado. If so, the extent of damage influences the rating the tornado gets under the Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale), a measure that reflects the size and intensity of a tornado. Another telltale sign of tornado possibility is hail, said Kehler — something that had been corroborated as of Wednesday night by numerous accounts in southern Manitoba. Robyn Dyck, a meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Steinbach received quarter- to loonie-sized hail. Stonewall had quarter-sized hail; St. Andrews was hit with loonie-sized hail; and Gunton reported hail from dime to golf-ball size, said Dyck. "There were some really good photos, and by really good I mean that they looked like they were very close to the ground and on radar it looked very much like it could have been a tornado, but there will be more investigation," Dyck said early Thursday morning. "We had no confirmation of any tornado as of yet." Tornado activity in Canada typically peaks in mid- to late-July, said Sills. He said prior to Wednesday, Manitoba has had three confirmed tornadoes so far in 2025. That includes an E0 — the weakest rating on the EF Scale — which touched down Tuesday in Grande-Clairière, southwest of Brandon, and didn't cause any damage, Sills said.
Global News
09-07-2025
- Climate
- Global News
‘Pay attention': Why Southern Ontario is the tornado hotspot of Canada
Summer in Ontario may bring with it warm weather, but last week's Lucan tornado is a reminder that it's also tornado season. Since the start of the year, two tornadoes have touched down in Ontario, one in Lucan on June 30 and the second less than an hour away in Woodstock on May 16. Dave Sills, director of the Northern Tornado Project at the University of Western Ontario, says Ontario is the leading province for tornadoes per year. 'It's these summer months — June, July, August — that's the peak for tornado activity right across Canada, but certainly in southern Ontario, this is the time where you really have to pay attention because tornadoes can happen with all of these storms that we get in this area,' Sills said. The Northern Tornado Project has been operating since 2017, tracking and assessing tornadoes across Canada. Story continues below advertisement There were no injuries reported in the recent Lucan tornado, according to the NTP, which rated the twister as an EF0 tornado with wind speeds reaching as high as 110 kilometres per hour. View image in full screen Lucan, Ont. tornado on June 30, 2025. Photo by Dr. David Sills/Northern Tornadoes Project, Lucan is a small village located about a 30-minute drive north of London and is part of the larger Lucan-Biddulph township. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy This is the second tornado of the year in Ontario, with the first occurring just down the road near Woodstock on May 16. Both are located in what is considered a tornado hot spot, in the southern part of the province. Tornadoes are rated using the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, which ranges from EF0 to EF5, with EF5 being the most intense. In Canada, the aim is to give people at least a 10-minute warning before a tornado hits so they can seek shelter in time. Story continues below advertisement Every year, the NTP rates Canada's warning preparedness with a report card. Its most recent report card for 2023 to 2024 gave an overall rating of 60.7 per cent. While the goal for the organization is for Canada to be at 100 per cent, Sills said this is a noticeable increase from years past, with 2019 to 2021 scoring a failing grade of 37.5 per cent. The most recent report card from the organization found that in 80 per cent of cases, it was able to issue tornado watches at least six hours before, and tornado warnings were issued 10 minutes before one struck 60 per cent of the time. How alerts work Tornado warnings are issued by Environment Canada through the Alert Ready system, which pushes notifications to all cellphones in the area and has the ability to take over radio and TV signals. Story continues below advertisement 'There were still some people in the Lucan event that said they'd never got a warning on their phone. It still seems to be somewhat dependent on the network they're on and the kind of phone they have and these kinds of things,' Sills said. 'Obviously there's still some kinks in the system that need to be ironed out, but this has come so far from 10 to 20 years ago.' Sills says while radar is used to track when a tornado can occur, Environment Canada also needs people to report a tornado when they see it forming in order to alert the wider community. Pointing to the Lucan tornado, Sills said it turned out a lot of people saw the storm, took pictures and video, but did not report to Environment Canada. 'Unless people contact Environment Canada about what they're seeing, as they're seeing it, they really have a hard time reacting quickly to a tornado kind of situation,' he said. People can report a tornado by calling Environment Canada, emailing ONstorm@ or using the #ONstorm on X. Regardless, Sills warns people who see a tornado or receive an alert to act fast. 'If a tornado warning is issued, that means that a tornado was either occurring or Doppler radar is showing that it's imminent, so that means you should get to shelter as soon as possible,' Sills said. Story continues below advertisement To stay safe from a tornado, it's recommended people stay away from windows and doors to avoid debris flying through the air and when possible, seek shelter in a basement. 'A lot of times we get people sending us videos of them using their cellphone camera to record a tornado coming straight at them with debris in the air, so this is not recommended,' Sills warns. 'Take it seriously.' — with files from Global News' Kevin Nielsen
