Tornado damages Swan Lake powwow grounds

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This article was published 14/06/2024 (469 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two weeks from the start of a powwow at Swan Lake First Nation, the community is working hard to repair damage to its grounds after a tornado damaged them just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

“We’re very grateful that no damages were sustained to the school, to our homes or public buildings we have,” said Swan Lake Chief Jason Daniels. “There’s no injuries or loss of life.”

While no one was hurt, Daniels said the powwow grounds in the community approximately 140 kilometres southeast of Brandon sustained damage to its roof on one side.

“It’s kind of lifted and thrown around,” Daniels said. “We’re going to be assessing that today and hopefully have our annual celebrations continue as planned.”

He said it would be a challenge to get the repairs done in time for the powwow, which will take place from June 28-30.

However, the community already started planning for the repairs on the night of the storm.

On top of that, Daniels said Swan Lake has received an outpouring of support from other First Nations, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse, Southern Chiefs’ Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels and Indigenous Services Canada.

Storm chaser Jordan Carruthers said that the tornado in Swan Lake was the biggest of the several he saw on Wednesday.

After hearing reports of the damage to the reserve, he said his team called off the chase to see if anyone needed assistance.

“It was probably one of the strongest (storms) I’ve chased in Canada,” he said. “Typically, we don’t get storms that produce multiple tornadoes in one day up here.”

If he had to estimate, Carruthers said the tornadoes he saw were on the weaker side, though he typically doesn’t like guessing before a full damage survey is completed.

Tornadoes near Rivers and Rapid City will likely be classified as zeroes on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, he said, while the Swan Lake tornado could be a one.

When chasing a storm, he said the key to staying safe is situational awareness, having multiple people monitoring different parts of the storm. In the case of a storm producing multiple tornadoes, keeping a greater distance is also a good call as well as keeping escape routes in mind.

He said it was unlikely that we’ll see another storm of the same magnitude this year, but on the other hand the extra moisture in the environment could provide the necessary conditions for a more active season than when there are droughts.

Not a lot more data on the storm was available yet on Thursday, Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Natalie Hazell said in a voice mail.

She said they’d received reports of nickel- to toonie-sized hail and were “pretty sure” about the touchdown of four tornadoes, “but there could have been quite a bit more.”

At the time, the damage to the powwow grounds in Swan Lake was the worst Hazell had heard about.

“The main areas were between Rivers and Rapid City and then near Swan Lake,” Hazell said. “The Northern Tornadoes Project will be on their way if they’re not there already to investigate these storms.”

Based out of Western University in London, Ont., the Northern Tornadoes Project dispatches teams of weather scientists and students to study tornadoes to improve detection and prevention methods, as well as assess their size and scale.

“Based on photos/video plus radar, there were several tornadoes today in SW Manitoba and a likely tornado in SE Saskatchewan,” the project’s account on X (formerly Twitter) posted Thursday evening.

“An NTP storm survey team will begin investigating tomorrow and may be busy for several days.”

By email, the project’s executive director, David Sills, confirmed that a team was starting its work in Saskatchewan on Thursday and would then move into Westman.

People with more information about the storm, including photos and videos, can email Environment Canada at storm@ec.gc.ca or post on X using the “#MBstorm” hashtag.

Hazell asked that those sending reports describe what they saw at what location at what time.

Reports can also be made to the project by tagging the account @NTP_Reports on X.

Carruthers said that he submits information from the ground to both Environment Canada and the project so that warnings can be issued to the public.

“If Environment Canada’s watching it on radar, they can only really see what’s happening in the top half of the storm, and it’s basically a guessing game what’s happening underneath.”

He said his team frequently livestreams the storms they chase on their Facebook page “Extreme Storm Chaser Jordan Carruthers” so that people can get live information on the their status.

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