Weekend tornado near Regina confirmed as first in Canada of 2023
The first twister of 2023 in the country touched down near Regina over the weekend, according to an analysis from the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP).
The tornado was confirmed to have touched down around six kilometres southeast of Regina at 8:55 p.m. on May 27 by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
Terri Lang, a meteorologist with ECCC, confirmed NTP's claim to CTV News.
According to Lang, the tornado earned an EF0 rating, which is the lowest the rung on the Enhanced Fujita Scale used to rate tornado strength.
“The way that tornados are rated is based on the damage that they do. So, if they don’t hit anything, we can’t rate them or if we give them a just a preliminary rating of EF0.”
NTP announced that the tornado is the first of the year in Canada, following the discovery of “sufficient evidence” that the storm damaged a farm near Rowatt, Sask.
A team from the Western University-led national tornado monitoring project is expected to survey the damage on Monday.
Jennifer Kreklewich's farm was hit by Saturday's tornado.
“It’s a disaster here, and seeing all the pictures, it doesn’t do it justice,” she said. “We came home to our shop that, as I like to say, got eaten by the tornado.”
“It’s everywhere. The roof, well the back half there’s a little bit of roof left but for the most part, there is nothing left of it.”
Lang said that many tornadoes remain at the EF0 level due to them touching down in remote areas and not causing damage that can be analyzed.
However, she was sure to mention that size is not indicative of the strength of the storm.
“A lot of people think you can rate a tornado just by the way it looks. If it’s really big, it must be really strong,” she said.
“But the way I try to get people to understand is if you think about a figure skater that’s doing a twirl, the way a figure skater goes faster is he or she brings in their arms into their body or above their head and twirl faster … the strongest winds of the tornadoes tend to be the smaller ones.”
The highest rated tornado in Canada, which tore through Elie, Man. on June. 22, 2007, was measured as an F5 on the old Fujita Scale.
“If you see a video of it, it looks very spindly, very tiny and you think ‘that doesn’t look very damaging.’ Whereas the damage that it did was some of the strongest that’s been recorded,” she said.
Lang added that it’s not surprising that Saskatchewan is host to the first twister of the year, due to their frequency in the province.
“If you measure it by density, Saskatchewan has the highest number of tornadoes per year in Canada,” she explained.
“We are the extension of the ‘tornado alley’ so it’s the same sort of setup that happens in the States. It extends to the north.”
As of 12 p.m. on Monday, Jeremy Pilon, communications consultant with SGI, said they had about 54 claims due to the storm.
"The vast majority of those are from water so we’re seeing sewer backups, flooding, things like that, and we have about seven claims related to hail,” he said.
- With files from CTV News Regina's Hallee Mandryk
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Here's how much more Canadian landlords are asking for now, according to a just-released report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
What is basic income, and how would it impact me?
Parliamentarians are considering a pair of bills aiming to lift people out of poverty through a basic income program, but some fear these types of systems could result in more taxes for Canadians who are already financially struggling.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Mexico's president accuses press and volunteer searchers for missing people of 'necrophilia'
The administration of Mexico's president has accused the press and volunteer searchers who look for the bodies of missing people of 'necrophilia,' comments that drew criticism this week.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Out-of-control wildfire burning near Fort McMurray
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the wildfire burning 28 kilometres southwest of the northeastern Alberta city was 25 hectares in size.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
WATCH Expecting an interest rate cut in June? Don't bet on it after new jobs data
Canada's labour market rebounded in April, adding more than 90,000 jobs, a staggering number of new positions after four consecutive months of little change.