Researchers with the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) have confirmed a total of seven twisters developed across Saskatchewan following a string of thunderstorms reported in late June and early July.
After a sizeable delay due to flooding and other weather, the NTP confirmed an EF2 tornado touched down near Badgerville, Sask., at around 5:40 p.m. on June 28. In a blog post, researchers reported the tornado travelled northwest, damaging several homes, barns and power lines along the way.
Max wind speed was estimated at 195 km/h, while the tornado’s track length was recorded as 22.2 kilometres (km) with a max path width of 1.05 km.
At around 6 p.m., while the first tornado began to dissipate — a second developed just south of the community of Pelly, located around 25 km north of Badgerville.
Assessed as an EF1 tornado, NTP survey teams confirmed damage to trees and several homes in Pelly. Max wind speed was estimated at 155 km/h with a track length of 3.4 km and a track width of 100 metres (m).
String of weak tornadoes
The following night, on the other side of the province, witnesses captured video of a tornado southeast of Elrose. Researchers gave the storm a preliminary rating of EF0.
Two more tornadoes were reported on Thursday, July 2. An EF0 twister was reported at around 3:25 p.m. near Kindersley.
Later, at around 6:25 p.m. an EF1 tornado was reported near the community of Denzil, Sask.
Damage to grain bins, trees and farm equipment was reported in the storm’s path. Max wind speed was reported as 150 km/h with a track length of 0.56 km and a max path width of 50m.
The remaining two tornadoes were reported on the afternoon of July 3 near the communities of Springwater and Edam. No damage or injuries were reported in either instance.
