Small tornado observed in southern Manitoba

A photo posted to Twitter by Josh Penner shows a landspout tornado near Letellier, Manitoba on June 23, 2020. (Twitter: Josh Penner, @ Jpenner70)

WINNIPEG — Environment Canada says they received a report of a brief tornado in southern Manitoba on Tuesday.

According to the agency’s weather summary on Wednesday, a brief tornado was observed six kilometres southeast of Letellier. Environment Canada received the report and photo from social media.

“A dust cloud was seen at the base of the funnel, but there were no reports of damage,” the report said, adding the tornado has been given a preliminary rating of EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

Twitter user Josh Penner posted this photo on Twitter Tuesday evening, which appears to show the tornado in question.

Environment Canada said the tornado is considered a landspout tornado, generated by weak rotation under rapidly growing clouds or weak thunderstorms.

Speaking with CTV News on Wednesday, Natalie Hasell, a weather preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the landspout could be the first tornado reported in Manitoba this season. Environment Canada is currently investigating a report of a possible tornado near Tolstoi on June 7, but no official confirmation has been received.

“There’s been a few other events we’ve seen through southern Manitoba that have been straight-line wind events,” Hasell said, adding straight-line winds are winds that break away from thunderstorms.

“They can actually cause more widespread damage, and occasionally, damage as significant as some tornadoes may cause.”

Hasell said Manitoba is approaching the peak of the thunderstorm season as we get closer to July, but said people should still be aware of severe weather and thunderstorms.

“There has been years where we have seen severe thunderstorms well into October, and in some years, as early as March,” she said. “It really depends on the year, how things are behaving, and what our conditions are.”

The agency said landspout tornadoes don’t usually cause significant damage, but warn they’re still dangerous, as they can topple trees, damage roofs, and toss debris short distances.

Environment Canada said they’re looking for pictures of the tornado or any damage it may have caused.

“We do use the information that people send us,” Hasell said. “Photos and videos allow us to see what they’re seeing. You don’t have to be a trained observer. You don’t have to know exactly what it is you’re looking at. So, we can then figure out what is going on in that storm in your area, and if it’s as things are happening, we can update our bulletins and alerts with that information.

“If it’s after the fact, it helps us fill in the gaps.”

Any information about the event can be emailed to [e-mail], or you can call 1-800-239-0484.