Despite a reputation for wild storms, this summer has been calm for Saskatchewan, at least relative to the country.
A record-setting 117 tornadoes were recorded across the country in 2022. As of the writing of this article, 24 tornadoes have been documented by Environment Canada as having touched down in 2023, with only one in Regina.
Manitoba and Alberta, however, have seen many.
Ricky Forbes is a storm chaser and social media personality and former host of reality TV show Tornado Hunters.
He said this year, his truck crossed the 90,000-km mark as he chased storms around the country, but he hasn’t chased any in Saskatchewan.
He said Manitoba especially has been a hot spot.
“We still have lots of summer left. Typically storms can happen until the end of August,” he said. “But, it’s been an abnormal year so it’s tough to say what we’re in for.”
Peter Quinlan is a meteorologist for Global News.
Quinlan said there’s no specific reason as to why the number of tornadoes touching down is different this year as opposed to last year.
“We’re getting toward the tail end of the heart of tornado season, but we still have the fringes to work through, so there is still the chance of some,” he said.
He added that storms may “bubble up” in some areas and become super-cellular, meaning they rotate, but the likelihood of whether or not they drop a tornado is hard to predict.
Although entirely circumstantial, Quinlan said atmospheric differences at different times of day, such as heating and holding patterns, vary between Saskatchewan and its neighbouring provinces, preventing the tornadoes from forming and/or touching down.