Residents across southeastern Manitoba spent Wednesday evening watching the skies as Environment Canada issued Tornado Warnings for a large portion of the region.
At approximately 8:45 p.m., Environment Canada warned residents in communities including Niverville, Grunthal, Sarto, Barkfield, St. Pierre and St. Malo that meteorologists were tracking a severe thunderstorm that was possibly producing a tornado. The warning also highlighted the risk of damaging winds, large hail and intense rainfall.
As emergency alerts sounded on cell phones throughout the evening, many residents sought shelter while others documented funnel clouds and rotating storm systems moving across the region. Photos and videos quickly appeared on social media from communities stretching from Morris and Rosenort to Niverville, Grunthal, Marchand, Dominion City and Zhoda.
Jenn Lundy watched a funnel cloud near Niverville
Among those who witnessed the storm firsthand was Niverville-area resident Jenn Lundy, who spotted a funnel cloud while driving through town.
"I was driving down Main Street in Niverville and just west of the Shell gas station, I noticed a funnel cloud coming down," Lundy explained. "So I took a little drive about another kilometre out and took another turn on the dirt road and sat there and took a bunch of photos. The funnel cloud lasted for about 20 minutes, but it never touched down."
Lundy said the sight was both fascinating and memorable.
"I'm just excited, making sure that I was safe, but it was far enough away that I felt safe and was able to enjoy myself watching it," she said.
Like many residents across the region, she also received a steady stream of emergency alerts throughout the evening.
"I lost count. It was incessant," she said of the number of warnings that appeared on her phone.
Despite the tension that came with the tornado warnings, Lundy was thankful the evening ended safely.
"Yeah, exactly," she said when talking about the fact that everyone came through the storm unharmed and was left with stories to tell the next day.
First-time funnel cloud sighting for a Steinbach resident
Steinbach resident Ricardo Miller was travelling with friends near Niverville when they noticed what would become one of the most talked-about weather events of the evening.
"Me and a couple of friends were heading up for supper, and I guess on the way to Niverville we spotted something that looked like a funnel cloud, which I guess it turned into a funnel cloud," Miller said.
The group was travelling west on Highway 311 when they spotted the formation.
For Miller, the experience was unlike anything he had seen before.
"I guess it's the first time I've seen a funnel cloud so pronounced, so it was pretty exciting. But at the same time, it's kind of concerning, right?" he said.
While many people were taking photos and sharing updates online, Miller stressed the importance of taking severe weather warnings seriously.
When he was asked whether people always take tornado warnings seriously enough, he said, "Probably not, I mean, as soon as we have weather like this, you always have a good handful of people out there running around and chasing these things. And sometimes that can be pretty dangerous."
He added that the warnings issued by Environment Canada shouldn't be dismissed.
"They have those warnings in place for a reason."
@steinbach_online Mother Nature put on quite a show last night! 🌪️ Several funnel clouds were spotted across southeastern Manitoba, creating some incredible scenes in the sky. #Funnelclouds #storm ♬ original sound - SteinbachOnline
Zhoda mom moves family indoors as the storm approached
In the Zhoda area, Amanda Lipton and her family had a front-row seat as the storm moved overhead.
After speaking with family members and monitoring conditions outside, Lipton noticed increasingly threatening clouds near her property in the Sandy Bay area.
"Initially, we just went and stood on our front porch," she said. "I called my mom, who was in Grunthal, because I heard it was pretty bad over there. So we were talking a bit. And after a little while, then I noticed that there were darker clouds when I looked towards the end of my driveway. So that's when my daughter and I went down the driveway and got that video."
At first, the unusual cloud formations seemed more interesting than alarming.
"At first, looking at those kinds of funnel cloud-looking ones, it was kind of cool," Lipton said.
That changed quickly as she noticed more rotation in the storm overhead.
"But then when I turned and looked above my neighbour's house, and kind of that whole shelf started turning, that's when I was like telling my daughter, 'Okay, get inside, get inside.' Not really sure what that was going to start."
Lipton said one of the most surprising aspects of the storm was how quickly it arrived.
"Yeah, and it was moving fast because at first, just standing at the end of the driveway, we're watching it, and within a minute it was right on top of us."
Although the storm passed without causing damage to her home, the experience left her children looking for reassurance before bedtime.
"It was definitely a long night with the kids after that," she said. "They just wanted to know that we were safe to go to bed."
Community grateful for safe outcome
While Wednesday night's storm system generated widespread concern and produced numerous reports of funnel clouds across southeastern Manitoba, residents are grateful the evening passed without reports of serious injuries.
For many, it was a reminder of how quickly prairie weather can change and why severe weather warnings should always be taken seriously.
At this point, Environment Canada has not confirmed whether any of the funnel clouds reported across the region actually developed into tornadoes.
]]>
