Tornado confirmed near Arden during thunderstorm

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This article was published 29/06/2023 (977 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — Environment and Climate Change Canada confirmed Wednesday one tornado touched down the day before near Arden, 170 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

A second possible tornado was being investigated outside Franklin, approximately 18 km east of Minnedosa.

The thunderstorm also swept through Brandon late Tuesday afternoon, temporarily flooding streets and causing a power outage.

A day later, much of southern Manitoba and the Interlake region were again placed under tornado watches and warnings.

Environment Canada’s weather station at Brandon Municipal Airport recorded 4.3 millimetres of rain Tuesday, but warning preparedness meteorologist Natalie Hasell said radar imagery indicates the worst of the storm hit the city proper.

Hasell said she wouldn’t be surprised if more than 100 mm had fallen on parts of the city, adding a farmer near MacGregor reported 114 mm on his property.

Reports were also received of golf ball-sized hail in Neepawa, MacGregor and near Fork River.

“If you have a storm that could generate a tornado, it has a strong updraft. The stronger the updraft, the more likely the hail has time to sit in the storm and grow,” said Hasell, who warned weather conditions forecast for Wednesday could possibly lead to the creation of more tornadoes.

On social media, Brandon residents posted photos of water spraying out of drains because of dislodged manholes, vehicles immersed in water and malfunctioning traffic lights.

On Wednesday, city general manager of operations Patrick Pulak said there hadn’t been any reports of serious damage, but that could change as staff continue the cleanup.

“It’s not about the amount of rain we get, it’s always about the intensity,” Pulak said Wednesday.

“Certainly, last night would qualify as one of those more intensive storms that we’ve received.”

Brandon resident Kaylie Carberry posted a video on Facebook of her neighbours canoeing down her flooded street.

Manitoba Hydro media relations officer Bruce Owen said there was a single major outage in the area that knocked out power to 1,700 customers in Douglas, Forrest, Baragar, Brandon, Kemnay, Alexander and Oak Lake.

According to Owen, most customers had their power restored by 6:30 p.m.

“The storm that rolled through caused extensive damage,” he wrote in an email. “Most of it was in the Alexander area.”

In Winnipeg Wednesday, two fires started about 6 p.m. at homes on Colley Crescent and Brebeuf Road due to lightning strikes. No one was injured in either incident.

— Brandon Sun