Nykole King
Regina Leader-Post
Having chased tornadoes for 17 years, Braydon Morisseau knows what it’s like to be in the eye of the storm.
Recalling one particular instance that occurred a decade ago in southwest Manitoba, he described the experience as feeling a “hot heartbeat in your face” while an “enveloping chill” goes down your spine.
Morisseau followed that storm with an armoured vehicle built aerodynamically to suction to the ground and withstand strong winds, but there’s always an element of unpredictability when it comes to severe weather.
“You’re experiencing a moment that will never ever be the same again,” Morisseau said in a recent interview with the Regina Leader-Post. “There’s always gonna be a different aspect to it, and I think that’s just so incredible.”
Hunting season in Sask.
A recent deluge of tornado sightings has caught the attention of professional storm hunters like Morisseau, who’s based out of Cochrane, Alta., but frequently passes through Saskatchewan.
So far this year, he has already tracked down over 20 tornadoes across the U.S. and Canada.
In his lifetime, he’s seen roughly 400.
With the Prairies now hitting peak tornado season — there were several sightings across Saskatchewan in June — he’s hoping to spot more as he passes through parts of the province.
According to data from the Northern Tornado Project (NTP) at Western University — an authority on classifying tornadoes — Ontario leads the country with 366 classified tornado occurrences since the program launched in 2017, followed by Quebec (188). Saskatchewan rounds out the top three with 123 confirmed tornadoes, including a nation-high 12 so far this year, as of June 19.
Behind the U.S., Canada has the second-highest number of occurrences, says Connell Miller, acting director of NTP in London, Ont.
he geography of the continent is one factor. Cold, dry Arctic air collides with warm air coming off the Gulf of Mexico, and that gets mixed with a low-pressure system from the Rocky Mountains which helps form clouds and precipitation.
“That combination really drives tornado generation and is really sort of the perfect ingredients for creating tornadoes in North America,” said Miller.
Public tornado alerts
From Wednesday to Friday of last week, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued alerts for southwest and south-central parts of Saskatchewan through the provincial emergency system, SaskAlert.
A tornado “watch” is issued to indicate there are conditions present that make it possible for a tornado to occur. A “warning” is when there’s a tornado in the area and the public is instructed to seek shelter immediately, says ECCC scientist Christy Climenhaga.
“You want instability in your atmosphere,” she said, detailing conditions that can lead to storms capable of producing a violent, rotating column of air known as a tornado.
“So (that means) warm, moist air near the ground (and) cooler, drier air aloft. And we also need wind shear — a change in wind speed and/or direction with height — which promotes the formation of stronger updrafts, bigger thunderstorms and then that rotation that you can get with tornadoes.”
The chase begins
When Morisseau sees potential for a tornado formation, he heads straight in that direction.
“You go with the wind wherever it might take you,” said Morisseau. “It’s pure freedom.”
He spends time checking forecast models for the potential of a supercell thunderstorm, which is a persistent rotating updraft in a cloud formation that can produce hail and rainfall. From those storms, only about 20 per cent will produce a tornado, making it quite rare.
Before hitting the road, Morisseau has to decide where to target. He uses surface observations like wind direction and humidity to determine where a severe storm might develop, but converging winds make it a guessing game — one that can require 10-15 hours of driving.
“We’re waiting for that first bubble to break the surface in the boiling pot of water,” explained Morisseau, who noted during the interview that he had just spotted a funnel cloud near Brock, Sask.
Warning the public
On-the-ground reports from storm chasers — as well as the general public — can be key to help weather agencies send out tornado warnings for people to take cover.
On June 19, for example, Morisseau witnessed two of the three tornadoes that were reported near Frobisher, Sask. His own detailed reports in those situations can then be passed on to the federal weather service.
That same day, Saskatchewan had eight tornado sightings, all of which have been confirmed by ECCC, according to Climenhaga. That put the province at 12 confirmed sightings to date in 2025, which is already near the annual average of 14-15, she says.
Morisseau’s vehicle has an on-board weather station to monitor wind speed and direction as well as dew point. He also documents any damage he sees and sends that information on to ECCC.
How storms are rated
Ratings which detail the level of damage have not yet been determined for those eight tornadoes on June 19, says Climenhaga.
It’s part of an ongoing evaluation process for researchers from the NTP team, which has engineers still taking damage reports from across Saskatchewan.
The scale for rating tornadoes ranges from zero to five, based on intensity. Most tornadoes across Canada are rated zero to two, says Miller. The lowest rating represents light damage — such as losing a few shingles from a roof — whereas Level 2 could include an entire roof coming off a house.
Where to shelter
For those who aren’t storm chasers, the safest place to shelter during a tornado is the lowest, most-central room in your house, advises Climenhaga. If there is no basement or cellar, a sturdy piece of furniture is the next-best option while using your arms to protect your head and neck.
If people can’t get to shelter, Climenhaga says you could lie flat in a ditch or sunken ground while covering your head with your hands. Sheltering underneath an overpass or bridge can be more dangerous, she says, because they act as wind tunnels for flying debris.
Lending a hand
Morisseau remembers being first on the scene after a one-mile-wide nighttime tornado hit Plevna, Kansas.
He spent time walking through the city to check houses and move trees so emergency crews could access people, he says. Morisseau makes sure to stay up to date on his first-responder training so he’s well-equipped to provide aid when a moment like that strikes.
“It’s just a sobering reminder of the dark side of nature,” he said. “We want to see these storms and experience these moments, but at the same time there is that dark side where it can impact people and communities. And that’s why it’s so important to really relay this information to Environment Canada.”
nyking@postmedia.com
