Possible tornado destroys property, uproots trees in southwestern Manitoba

Environment Canada meteorologists said a tornado may have hit the areas of Hartney and Pipestone Saturday night. (Photo courtesy Kevin Gridney)

A severe weather system that hit parts of southwestern Manitoba likely have produced a tornado Saturday evening, meteorologists from Environment Canada said.

Photos from the areas of Pipestone and Hartney show roofs ripped off of houses and tree limbs scattered about.

Resident Kevin Grindey said the storm started around 7:15 p.m. and lasted about 40 minutes. The storm destroyed a cattle shed, uprooted trees, and dumped golf ball-sized hail.

Hundreds of trees in Pipestone were uprooted or snapped off during Saturday night's storm. The town's hockey rink was leveled.

The wind picked up a 40-foot trailer home and dropped it in pieces in the next lot. "I seen a mattress from one of the beds pretty well a mile away in the field over there," said Ed Stephanow.

Romeo Barre took shelter in his basement. “The house was creaking, I thought the whole house was going to go,” he said.

Two trees in his front yard toppled over, but they fell away from the house.

A softball team was in town for a tournament that was cancelled because of the storm. They cleared the damaged trees in a matter of minutes on Sunday afternoon.

Wade Gilliard spent all day clearing 10 fallen trees from his yard. One damaged part of his garage and smashed his truck but spared his house.

“The good thing is, nobody got hurt. Everybody's ok. We're without hydro but everything else is alright,” he said.

"It really is great to have that today, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to do this on our own. No way," said Jeannette Barre.

With power lines down on nearly every block, Manitoba Hydro has more than a dozen people working in Pipestone. Those workers said they're still assessing the damage and don't have any idea when power will be restored for the entire community.

Environment Canada meteorologists have not yet confirmed the tornado. They plan to visit the area tomorrow.

- With a report by Ben Miljure