| Elie, Manitoba Tornado | |
| The tornado approaching the town of Elie, Manitoba (Canada) around 6:50pm Local Time | |
| Date: | June 22, 2007 |
| Time: | 6:25 pm CDT |
| Rating: | F5 tornado |
| Damages: | $39 million |
| Casualties: | 0 |
| Area affected: | Elie, Manitoba |
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The Elie, Manitoba Tornado was an F5[1][2] tornado that struck the town of Elie, Manitoba, Canada, (40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Winnipeg) on June 22, 2007. While several houses were leveled, no one was injured or killed by the tornado.[3] Two well-built homes in the town were swept clean off of their foundations, justifying the F5 classification. This makes it one of the strongest twisters on record since 1999 and one of only nine to reach F5/EF5 intensity between 1999 and 2011 in North America. One other tornado was also confirmed in the small outbreak.
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The tornado touched down north of the Trans-Canada Highway around 6:30 PM CDT (2330 UTC) and slowly moved southeast where it picked up a tractor-trailer before it headed south and severely damaged the town's flour mill causing over $1 million in damage. It then headed southeast towards Elie, where it destroyed four houses, flipped cars, and even tossed one homeowner's Chrysler Fifth Avenue onto a neighbour's roof.[4] The tornado lingered over the same area of Elie for approximately four minutes before it cut sharply to the south and rapidly dissipated. The tornado traveled about 6 km (3.7 mi) and was 300 m (330 yd) wide at its widest during its 40-minute lifespan. The tornado repeatedly struck essentially the same area of town, destroying most of the structures and vehicles in the area. The people in Elie were prepared and took the necessary precautions during the event. A video of the tornado shows an entire two-story home swiped off its foundation and tossed 75 feet (about 23 m) in the air before rotating around the tornado and then being obliterated. Also seen on the video was a 3/4 ton GM van filled with drywall picked up and tossed hundreds of feet upon a devastating impact with the ground. At least 3 houses are seen being destroyed on the video, with many more being damaged as well as vehicles, and the mill is seen being damaged, with bins and roofs being destroyed there.
At the same time as the Elie tornado, another tornado was touching down close to nearby Oakville. That tornado was rated as an F3 with winds of 295 km/h (183 mph) after it destroyed several outbuildings and many trees. Two tornadoes not far from each other at the same time was a rare occurrence for the people watching the events unfold that evening.
The following day, Environment Canada sent out a storm damage survey team to assess the damage caused by the tornado. On September 18, 2007, the tornado was upgraded to F5 on the Fujita Scale from the original F4 based on video analysis of the tornado and reassessment of the damage[2]. This was the first tornado in Canada to be officially rated as such, making it the strongest confirmed tornado in Canadian history. It was one of only two F5/EF5 tornadoes that year, (the other being in Greensburg, Kansas on May 4, 2007), and there have only been three confirmed since 1999. Canada has not adopted the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
The synoptic situation on June 22 was conducive to a major severe weather event in southern Manitoba. A low pressure system came in from Saskatchewan through the day, and then moved over southern Manitoba throughout the evening. A warm front was positioned north of Elie for much of the day with a trailing cold front residing west of Elie near the Lake Manitoba basin southwest through southeast Saskatchewan. A lake breeze boundary was also present south of Lake Manitoba.
Very warm air was situated over Southern Manitoba that day as temperatures climbed into the high 20s°C (low 80s°F). The humidity was also uncomfortably high, with dewpoints ranging from 18–22°C (65–72°F). Directional and speed shear were present as well as high helicity values. These conditions were favourable for supercells, which are thunderstorms with rotating updrafts, and they developed within the warm sector located in the Red River Valley and areas farther west. The situation was exacerbated by the presence of the lake breeze boundary because the atmosphere was capped through much of the day with little in the way of a trigger. This boundary provided the focus for storms to develop rapidly and become severe, given the high instability present.
At the same time as the Elie tornado, this tornado was on the ground just a few miles away in Oakville. This tornado destroyed a few outbuildings and snapped off many trees. The Oakville tornado was classified as an F3 with winds of 183 mph.
The day after the Elie and Oakville tornadoes, another powerful tornado touched down near Pipestone. The tornado was followed by many storm chasers for its long nearly 100 mile path. Shortly after touching down, the tornado damaged several homes on the Oak Lake Reserve. This damage was F1. The tornado then continued for many miles over open country, occasionally grazing a structure with minor damage and snapping off many trees. As well, the parent storm occasionally produced baseball-sized hail. At its widest, the tornado was determined to be 1.8 km wide. This determination was made possible because the tornado churned through Spruce Woods Provincial Park, a heavily-forested region. At one point near Hartney, the tornado took out a very old (> 100 years) house that was made of brick. A new house built of brick would almost certainly require an F5 rating but as this home was built late in the 1800s, more than F3 damage could not be assigned. Near the end of its life-cycle, near Glenora, it destroyed a home (not well-built) and also destroyed some trees, garnering its F3 rating. It dissipated shortly thereafter.
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| F# | Location | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba | ||||||
| F5 | Elie area | 2208 | 3.7 miles (6 km) |
Very violent, destructive tornado was spawned outside of the town of Elie and went through the town completely destroying several homes and damaging the town's flour mill. Although this was originally an F4 tornado, it was re-rated to an F5. This was a rare tornado and was Canada's first official F5 tornado. | ||
| F3 | Near Oakville | 2351 | 7.4 miles (11.9 km) |
As the Elie tornado dissipated, a new destructive tornado developed about 10 miles west of there. The tornado tracked through the country damaging trees and a couple of grain storage bins. | ||
| F# | Location | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoba | ||||||
| F3 | NW of Pipestone to near Glenora | 1858 | 18.7 miles (30 km) |
Large 1.8 km wide tornado damaged many trees and several wheat fields. 1 home was destroyed. | ||