Tornado that hit southwestern Manitoba gets early rating of 'high-end EF2'

Image of a tornado that touched down in southwestern Manitoba the evening of Monday, July 27. (Reid Timmer – south of Tilston)

Environment Canada has given Monday’s tornado in southwestern Manitoba near Tilston a preliminary rating of a "high-end EF2."

Meteorologists continue to do on-site surveys of the damage from the tornado, which stayed on the ground for nearly three hours.

The tornado scale goes from 1 to 5.

“The EF-scale employs a large number of damage indicators, ranging from residential housing to office towers to trees,” notes Environment Canada on its website.