Here’s how Saskatchewan’s 2026 tornado season compares to previous years

Saskatchewan saw a surge of severe weather this weekend after reports of numerous tornadoes across the province. Sierra D’Souza Butts reports.

Saskatchewan may be experiencing a record year for funnel clouds, if the current pace of storms continues, according to experts.

Those across the province were witness to an eventful, storm-filled weekend, which saw a string of tornadoes reported all across the province’s centre.

It’s an unusual pattern according to David Sills, who serves as the director of the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP).

“Way above normal. If this pace continues, you might be setting some records here,” he told CTV News. “I kind of feel for the residents in Saskatchewan. It seems like there’s tornadoes raining down on the province this year.”

As of noon Monday, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said it has confirmed nine tornadoes touched down on Friday, July 10. A further five remained unconfirmed.

Twin tornadoes near Glaslyn and another near Spiritwood were confirmed to have touched down on Saturday, July 11.

According to the NTP, there have been 27 confirmed tornadoes in the province, excluding the reported tornadoes of July 10-11.

Twenty of those have been EF0s, or the lowest classification of funnel clouds — leaving very little to no damage behind.

Five have been classified as EF1s — featuring winds around 150 km/h and damage ranging from destroyed trees to damaged roofs.

The drastic storms are caused by recent heavy rainfall and hot weather, according to Environment Canada.

“All the ingredients needed for those storms all came together at exactly the right time, at exactly the right place,” said ECCC meteorologist Terri Lang.

“We had the heat, we had the moisture, we had the winds in the upper atmosphere allowing those storms to spin. When storms can spin that means they can get themselves organized, which means they’re able to grow into storms that are possible or able to produce tornadoes.”

She added the hot temperatures over the past weekend helped “suppress” the thunderstorms.

The province has also hosted two rarities, with an EF2 tornado being reported on June 28 near Badgerville and an EF3 tornado reported near Oxbow on June 9.

• Here’s where the Oxbow tornado touched down, and what it hit

Both tornadoes left considerable damage in their wake — with the Oxbow tornado leveling a farmyard. The twister marks the province’s first EF3 tornado since 2010.

“It’s prime conditions, I guess you’d say, recently for tornadoes, and it’s been pretty remarkable,” Sills noted. “Not just a lot of tornadoes, but strong tornadoes as well. Ones that are able to destroy the top half of a house, for instance.”

The 27 tornadoes in Saskatchewan as of July 13 does not include the EF2 tornado reported in the area of Dillberry Lake, Alta. on July 8. According to the NTP, that storm originated in Alberta and crossed into Saskatchewan during its 13.8 km journey. Five people were injured in the storm.

Since the NTP began compiling data in 2017, the province has averaged 16 tornadoes annually.

Tornadoes in Saskatchewan by year (NTP)

• 2017 – 12
• 2018 – 20
• 2019 – 15
• 2020 – 7
• 2021 – 11
• 2022 – 26
• 2023 – 1
• 2024 – 19
• 2025 – 23
• 2026 – 27 (As of July 13, 2026)

Although the number of tornadoes this year may seem abnormal compared to previous years, Lang said it’s typical for the season.

“It’s actually closer to what we usually get or what we should be getting versus what we’ve had over the past couple years, which is dryness and forest fire, smoke ... This is actually closer to a regular severe weather season,” she said.

Additional weather alert systems in place have also played a factor in the number of confirmed storm-related events counted over the years.

The Prairies feature a shorter storm season than Ontario and Quebec, given the fact they are further south. Saskatchewan is currently at the mid-point of its tornado season, which runs from June to August.

“In August, hopefully, we’ll be more quiet,” Sills added. “We’re right in the thick of it right now, and we’re seeing the results for sure.”

Weekend tornado reports (ECCC)

• Glaslyn - July 11 - twin tornadoes - confirmed
• Spiritwood - July 11 - confirmed
• Speers - July 10 - unconfirmed
• Dundurn - July 10 - confirmed
• Redberry Lake - July 10 - unconfirmed
• Petrofka - July 10 - unconfirmed
• Waldheim - July 10 - unconfirmed
• Rosthern - July 10 - unconfirmed
• Prud’homme - July 10 - confirmed
• Plunkett - July 10 - confirmed
• Cupar 1 - July 10 - confirmed
• Cupar 2 - July 10 - confirmed
• Leross 1 - July 10 - confirmed
• Leross 2- July 10 - confirmed
• Herzel 1 - July 10 - confirmed
• Herzel 2 - July 10 - confirmed

People are encouraged to download the WeatherCAN and SaskALERT apps to receive warnings about severe weather in their area, allowing them to prepare and plan accordingly.

“Be prepared to act on your plans, know what to do if severe weather approaches,” said Lang.

“We’re finding people are leaving things to the last minute and then they panic. They don’t know what to do and that’s when a lot of bad things can happen ... We wait a very long time for summer on the Prairies here and we’d like to get out and enjoy it.”