A tornado and violent thunder storm ripped through southwestern Manitoba last night, destroying cattle sheds and machine shops and flattening crops from Pierson to Virden, Man.
Man. tornado survivor ‘feeling lucky that we’re here’
Archie McPherson, who farms near Reston, Man., described it as the most ferocious thunder storm of his life.
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“It’s the most intense storm I’ve ever witnessed and I’m pensioner age. It just sounded like a cannon going off outside the house,” said McPherson, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Pipestone.
“I talked to some of the old-timers this morning and they said they’ve never seen a storm like that…. I was checking the gauge.… It rained an inch every 15 minutes. We got 104 millimetres in an hour.”
According to Environment Canada, a tornado developed around 8:30 p.m. last night, touching ground near the town of Pierson.
According to media reports, the tornado was on the ground for two and a half hours. Fortunately, it didn’t destroy any homes in the region.
From Pierson the twister moved north along Highway 256, near the Saskatchewan border, damaging farms near Tilston.
“(On one farm) they lost all their corrals, cattle sheds and bins … and some vehicles,” said Karen Jones, a councillor in the RM of Two Borders, who lives about five kilometres from the affected farms.
VIDEO from @BraydonMoreSo of large wedge tornado on the ground north of Edward, MB: pic.twitter.com/a8ZlTa0zzd #mbstorm
— The Weather Network (@weathernetwork) July 28, 2015
Neighbors are already over to help with the clean-up at farm south of Sinclair. #MBStorm Trees are down on house. pic.twitter.com/wMUgOabBOa
— Lana at SE Research (@SE_ResearchFarm) July 28, 2015
The tornado hit another farm, also along Highway 256, destroying machine workshops, corrals, a barn, cattle sheds and grain bins.
“There were oil trucks … lying on their sides,” said Jones, who drove past the farm last night.
“Their house is probably 200 feet from where these (damaged) sheds were and there was minimal damage to their house.”
McPherson said the tornado also ravaged a farm north of Reston.
“There was a fairly new machine shed destroyed, and some bins damaged and tipped over.”
My video of the large wedge #tornado near Tilston last evening http://t.co/ZCZKYBzprh #MBstorm @globalwinnipeg @ctvwinnipeg @weathernetwork
— Justin Hobson (@justinhobson85) July 28, 2015
Scott Chalmers, a diversification specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, was in the basement of his home in Reston with his family when the storm arrived. He was amazed by the intensity and frequency of the lightning. “It (sounded) like the snap of a firework when it ripples away. It was the exact same thing. It was so close,” he said. “You could feel it go through your bones.” McPherson said crops in the region were looking great prior to the storm, but most fields are now horizontal. “All the crops are flattened and twisted up.” Chalmers said crops have several weeks to recover before harvest and should be OK. “There’s going to be some soggy ground out there,” he said. “(But) it looks like we got a week of sunshine (in the forecast).” robert.arnason@producer.com
Hail at Wawanesa. Not a large quantity thankfully. #mbstorm pic.twitter.com/tUzaRE008w
— Simon Ellis (@FarmLifeMB) July 27, 2015
@WhitneySGlobal This is all I can get you that quick. #skstorm #mbstorm pic.twitter.com/ceIm7ibOA3
— Sean Schofer (@SeanSchoferTVN) July 28, 2015
