Teen storm chaser develops mobile tornado siren

Allison Bamford reports on 18-year-old Saskatchewan storm chaser Aaron Rutley as he prepares for this year's storm season as the warm weather returns.

CUT KNIFE, Sask. - As temperatures heat up across the country, a teenage storm chaser is hoping his do-it-yourself passion project will keep communities safe during tornado season.

Aaron Rutley, 18, developed a mobile tornado siren to warn his community when imminent tornadoes approach Cut Knife, a small town about 185 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

“If you hear it, take shelter,” he said.

Rutley attached a siren and flashing emergency lights to his personal truck.

The unit was inspired by sirens used in the United States and works in tandem with his love for chasing storms – a hobby he’s had since he first got his driver’s licence.

“I was originally terrified of storms,” the Grade 12 student told CTV News.

“I started to learn more about them and it gradually grew from an absolutely crippling fear of storms to an absolutely crippling obsession.”

The mobile siren allows Rutley to chase the storm, confirm any tornado on the ground and sound the alarm in the area. He says it can serve as a back-up to Environment Canada alerts issued on phones.

The province’s first two confirmed tornadoes of 2025 touched down south of Cut Knife, Sask., Rutley documented both of them.

He says it underscores the need for a back-up warning system in the area.

“When I was chasing storms, I noticed that my phone would not receive alerts because Saskatchewan does not have very good cell coverage,” he said. “I thought if we actually had a siren in Canada it would be perfect.”

Rutley runs point on the project. He’s the driver and siren operator, while his friend Logan Weikle pays close attention to the radar.

“I’m the navigator,” Weikle said. “I’m searching for roads and finding out which way the storm is going.”

Both agree it’s a dangerous hobby but say they go into the storm season well prepared.

They hope this year, the mobile siren will help the rest of the town be prepared too.

“I just hope it brings awareness to more storms and how destructive they can be and how dangerous when there’s no warning,” Weikle said.

Rutley’s unit is in the early stages. They successfully tested out the siren for the first time this week.

He has written authorization from town council and is working to get his truck licensed as an emergency vehicle.

Expanding the siren’s reach

For now, he can only use the siren within town limits, but he’s hoping to one day expand throughout western and central Saskatchewan.

“If we get written authorization from other cities and other towns, then we can expand,” he said.

Western University campus in London, Ont., is one of very few places in Canada to have an installed tornado siren.

Dave Sills, director of the Northern Tornadoes Project at Western University, says the siren is one more way to ensure people receive the warning.

“Not everybody has a cell phone and not everybody has their cell phone on them all the time,” he said. “It’s those kinds of times when some kind of audible alert would really help.”

Canada had a busier-than-normal tornado season in 2025, documenting 116 tornadoes compared to the usual 65, according to Sills.

Saskatchewan recorded an above-average 23 tornadoes, with an outbreak producing 10 tornadoes within one day last June.

Among that outbreak were some of the biggest tornadoes produced in the country that year, including two EF2 tornadoes.

As of Tuesday, Canada had yet to report it’s first tornado of the year, but there have been tornado warnings.

“Be prepared out there,” Sills said. “Those conditions are coming and it could be as early as this weekend that someone sees some severe weather, including possibly a tornado.”