During the evening of June 22, 2007, a powerful
F5 tornado struck the town of
Elie
Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked v ...
, in the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
( west of
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
).
It was part of a small two-day
tornado outbreak
__NOTOC__
A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least two rotational l ...
that occurred in the area and reached a maximum width of . The tornado was unusual because it caused the extreme damage during its roping out stage at a mere in width and moved extremely slowly and unpredictably. The tornado tracked primarily southeast, as opposed to the usual northeast, and made multiple loops and sharp turns.
Because Environment Canada adopted the
Enhanced Fujita scale
The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia.
The Enhanced Fujita scale repl ...
in 2013, there will be no more tornadoes with an F5 rating, making this tornado the first and last confirmed F5 tornado in Canada.
While several houses were leveled, no one was injured or killed by the tornado.
A home in the town was swept clean off of its foundation, justifying the F5 classification. One of the strongest twisters on record since 1999, it is one of only ten to be rated F5/EF5 since 1999 in North America. The tornado caused damage of an estimated $39 million.
Meteorological synopsis
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
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
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 . Strong wind shear was present, reflected in high helicity values. These conditions were favorable for
supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms ( ...
s, 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
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
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.
Storm track and damage
The tornado initially touched down north of the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...
around 6:25 p.m. CDT (23:25
UTC) and slowly moved southeast where it picked up a
tractor-trailer
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...
. The tornado slowly turned east, took a sharp turn south, and then took another sharp turn east all within roughly . The tornado made another turn south and made an extremely slow loop over the town's
flour mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
at F2 intensity, causing over $1 million in damage. From there, it headed south, parallel to Janzen Road, at F0 intensity. After reaching the intersection of Jansen Road and Road 61 North, the tornado turned east directly towards the southwest edge of Elie. It quickly intensified to F4 strength while it made a loop over Elie Street. Here, it destroyed four houses, including one which was described as well-built and bolted to its foundation, being lifted completely off its foundation and thrown into the air where it then broke apart, justifying F5 intensity. The tornado also preceded to flip and throw multiple cars, and even tossed one homeowner's
Chrysler Fifth Avenue
The Chrysler Fifth Avenue was a trim level/option package or model name used by Chrysler for its larger sedans from 1979 to 1993. The Fifth Avenue name was no longer used after 1993 when Chrysler introduced its new LH-platform New Yorker and simil ...
onto a neighbor's roof. The tornado lingered over this area of Elie for approximately four minutes before it exited Elie to the southwest and rapidly dissipated.
The tornado traveled about and was wide at its widest during its 35-minute lifespan. The tornado repeatedly struck essentially the same area of town, destroying most of the structures and vehicles in the area. A video of the tornado shows an entire two-story home swiped off its foundation and tossed in the air before rotating around the tornado and then being obliterated. Also seen on the video was a three-quarters-of-a-ton GM van filled with drywall picked up and tossed hundreds of feet. At least three 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.
Aftermath
Since the people in Elie were prepared and took the necessary precautions during the event, no one was injured or killed during the storm. The following day,
Environment Canada sent out a storm damage survey team from the
Prairie and Arctic Storm Prediction Centre
The Prairie and Arctic Storm Prediction Centre (PASPC), is tasked with forecasting weather for the public and mariners in the Canadian Prairie Provinces, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut Territory, and adjacent domestic waters. The PASPC operat ...
to assess the damage caused by the tornado. On September 18, 2007, the tornado was upgraded to F5 on the
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is deter ...
from the original F4 based on video analysis of the tornado and reassessment of the damage.
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
Greensburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the city was 740. It is home to the world's largest hand-dug well. On the evening of May 4, 2007, Greens ...
on May 4, 2007), and there have only been ten confirmed since 1999. At the time, Canada had not adopted the
Enhanced Fujita scale
The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated as EF-Scale) rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage they cause. It is used in some countries, including the United States, Canada, China, and Mongolia.
The Enhanced Fujita scale repl ...
.
Rating disputes
Many people argued that the tornado was only being rated an F5 for novelty's sake, but further research found clear F5 damage with a single house being wiped cleanly off its foundation. Surveyors were hesitant to rate the tornado so high because its peculiar slow forward speed could mean that it was a less intense tornado that stood still over the same area for a long period of time, and that it didn't have reach F5 intensity. This uncertainty resulted in the tornado's initial F4 rating. Analysis of civilian video however, found the tornado crossed F5-damaged area for no more than 30 seconds, making it a clear F5-intensity tornado.
Video analysis also observed rotation in a manner indicative of windspeed well over .
Significance
At the same time as the Elie tornado, another tornado was occurring close to nearby
Oakville. That tornado was rated as an
F3 with winds of after it destroyed several outbuildings and many trees. The Elie tornado was also significant because of how it looked while at F5 intensity. The tornado was reaching the end of its life span and was in its roping out/decaying stage. Some meteorologists suggest the intensity was due to the rapid implosion of the tornado's wind field, which caused it to quickly accelerate for a brief period of time.
Other tornadoes
In addition to the Elie F5 tornado, four more tornadoes also affected Canada on June 22–23.
See also
*
Tornadoes of 2007
*
List of Canadian tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
This page lists tornadoes and tornado outbreaks which have touched down in Canada prior to the 21st century. On average, there are around 80 confirmed and unconfirmed tornadoes that touch down in Canada each year, with most occurring in the s ...
*
List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes
This is a list of tornadoes which have been officially or unofficially labeled as F5, EF5, T10-T11, IF5, or an equivalent rating, the highest possible ratings on the various tornado intensity scales. These scales – the Fujita scale, the Enhance ...
*
Tornado outbreak of May 4–6, 2007
From May 4–6, 2007, a major and damaging tornado outbreak significantly affected portions of the Central United States. The most destructive tornado in the outbreak occurred on the evening of May 4 in western Kansas, where about 95% of the cit ...
– Produced the Greensburg, Kansas EF5 tornado
Notes
References
External links
Video of tornadoPopular Manitoba tornado videoThe Elie, Manitoba F5 Tornado
{{2007 tornado outbreaks
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Elie
Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked v ...
June 2007 events in North America
2007 disasters in Canada
2007--6-22