Deadly tornado in Manitoba, increased to EF-3 rating
Intense thunderstorms rolled through southern Manitoba on Friday, August 7th, prompting tornado warnings and producing at least one twister. The tornado occurred near Scarth, Manitoba, around 8:10 p.m. local time.
Environment Canada sent a team the next day to assess the tornado damage and gave the twister an EF-2 rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds in the 179-217 km/h range.
However, they have since upgraded the rating to an EF-3 after teams from the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) and the University of Manitoba collected data from the tornado site, and determined that the winds were approximately 260 km/h and caused a lot more damage than initially assessed.
According to an RCMP report, there were two fatalities and one injury. Two vehicles were significantly displaced, trees and power lines were snapped, and farms were damaged.
Shayna Barnesky and Carter Tilbury, both 18 and from Melita, were pronounced dead at the scene after the pickup truck they were in was swept up by the twister, CBC reported. Another vehicle, driven by James Blacksmith of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, was also thrown by the tornado. Blacksmith survived, but sustained serious injures.
Visuals of the tornado and severe storms can be found below. The storms also produced frequent lightning, large hail, and damaging wind gusts.
With files from CBC News.
