29 twisters strike Prairies so far this season, one killed
Tuesday, September 11, 2018, 7:38 PM - There were 29 tornadoes across the Canadian Prairies this summer, with Saskatchewan leading the way, but it was the one in Alonsa, Man., that was the most damaging. So far.
"These numbers are still preliminary as our summer severe weather team has a few more things to go through and we have had a tornado in October before, so realistically, the season may not be over," said Alysa Pederson, decision support meteorologist with Environment Canada.
The 2018 tornado count, to this point, shows 19 touched down in Saskatchewan, eight in Manitoba and two in Alberta. There are possibly six more — three each in Saskatchewan and Alberta — that still need to be confirmed.
The twister that went through the Alonsa, Silver Ridge and Margaret Bruce Beach areas on Aug. 3 claimed the life of one man and was rated an EF-4. That's the second-highest severity classification.
It left a path of destruction that was up to 800 metres wide in places. The trail of damage in the area, about 165 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, could be seen on satellite images.
Saskatchewan recorded, in a single stormy day, the same number of tornadoes that Manitoba had in total, with eight touching down in southern Saskatchewan on July 10. Both of Alberta's confirmed tornadoes were landspouts, Environment Canada said. Landspout tornadoes do not usually cause major damage but can still be strong enough to topple trees, damage roofs or toss debris short distances.
Read the original story on CBC.ca.
Thumbnail image credit: David Mozdzen/CBC
