Yesterday's severe weather around Dauphin and in much of southern Manitoba is just scratching the surface of this year's severe weather season for the Prairies.
Danielle Desjardins, Warning Preparedness Meteorologist with Environment Canada said yesterday saw 3 confimred tornadoes in Manitoba, with a 4th unconfirmed sighting near Dauphin.
"Still have not confirmed the Dauphin tornado at this time, did receive a report of a tornado about 10 kilometres southeast of Dauphin. If anyone has any pictures or damage reports from the area, we are actively seeking pictures of the suspected tornado...that will help us determine exactly what it was, whether it was a tornado, sometimes there are different types of clouds that may or may not look like a tornado, but this is a suspected tornado," said Desjardins.
If you have any pictures or video of yesterday's suspected tornado near Dauphin, you can contact Environment Canada by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by using the hashtag #MBStorm on social media. Environment Canada uses pictures or video of tornadoes and severe weather in a lot of ways.
"That also helps the forecasters potentially warn others of inclement weather, so it's also very important to also report severe weather, that can be done by either phoning us, over email, or hashtagging on social media as well...especially with a situation such as a possible tornado, getting a warning out even minutes earlier could potentially save lives," said Desjardins.
We can definitely say yesterday's storm and severe weather was the worst of the year for Dauphin...so far. Desjardins said we're just at the start of severe weather season for the prairies, and it usually lasts a while. When you get the kind of weather we have been lately, it's usually not a great sign for severe weather.
"This is the beginning of severe weather season for the southern prairies, southern Manitoba, typically starts around May sometimes and lasts through until about the end of August or so, with peak being end of June, early July...with all the really hot weather we've been having, the moisture that came in yesterday, this was anticipated for yesterday, and we're expecting that this is just the beginning of severe weather season, so there's likely more to come as the season progresses," said Desjardins.
With severe weather a concern this season, Environment Canada recommends preparing an Emergency Preparedness Kit. Click here to visit their website for an Emergency Kit Checklist.
