Canada’s only F5 tornado hit this Manitoba town in 2007
The twister that hit Elie, Manitoba, is one of only 61 scale-topping tornadoes on record across North America
The strongest tornado ever observed in Canada struck Elie, Manitoba, on a muggy June afternoon in 2007.
The storm caused localized but extreme damage when it grazed the small town on the southern Prairies and cemented its place in the history books.
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Conditions were ripe for severe weather over southern Manitoba on the afternoon of June 22, 2007.
A low-pressure system moving through the eastern Prairies dragged warm, moist air north of the border. Upper-level winds were favourable for thunderstorms to organize into supercells capable of producing tornadoes.
Storm chasers watched as a slow-moving supercell thunderstorm produced a tornado near the town of Elie, which sits along the Trans-Canada Highway about 45 km due west of Winnipeg.
This intense tornado bucked all the stereotypes of high-end systems. The tornado itself was relatively narrow and moved very slowly, a sharp contrast to the very large and fast twisters we’re used to seeing south of the border.
Damage surveys and chaser videos tracked the tornado as it crawled northwest to southeast, striking a flour mill and several homes on the outskirts of Elie.
Powerful winds completely swept one home clean off its foundation, reportedly leaving behind no debris on the property. The tornado received a scale-topping F5 rating based on this damage.
Two other neighbouring homes were completely destroyed down to their basements, while a fourth home was destroyed but still recognizable.
Experts spent some time debating the true intensity of the tornado. The twister’s slow movement and erratic track left some surveyors concerned that the prolonged wind exposure may have exacerbated the damage.
Additional surveys and studies alleviated those concerns, confirming that the tornado was indeed the strongest ever observed in Canada.
Elie's destructive storm was one of just 61 tornadoes that have received scale-topping ratings in North America since reliable records began in 1950.