Last evening, there was a severe weather outbreak over the northern Great Plains of North America. This included North and South Dakota, Montana and Southern portions of Canada.
This was in response to a very strong and dynamic low pressure system that rapidly intensified out of Montana and into southern Canada yesterday afternoon and evening. This created ample wind shear for the low to work with, and in associaion with high temps and dewpoints, the atmosphere was primed for severe weather.
One of the storms that formed over the region produced a tornado that is estimated to have been on the ground for 2.5 to 3 hours. THREE HOURS. Think about that. That is how long it take to drive from here to Nashville and back and then to Nashville again.
“Preliminary reports indicate a large tornado developed just north of Pierson, MB at 8:30 PM CDT and tracked northward and was on the ground for an incredible 2.5 to 3 hours with the last report of The tornado received around 11 PM north of Virden. (Canadian Weather Service)”
Because the set up was as good as it was, many storm chasers made the long drive to chase the storms, and there are many videos floating around from this event (some have bad language).
I mean, I saw the tornado pics on Twitter last night, but to find out that this tornado may have lasted up to 3 hours on the ground? My jaw dropped. Thats crazy stuff.
The Canadian Weather Service is out surveying the damage today, so I will update this when we know the rating and all the details. In the meantime, check out some of the pictures from Twitter, and you can read more about this by checking out this article.
#MBstorm pic from this evening N of Pierson, MB Tornado was so violent it ripped the asphalt from the hiway @680CJOB pic.twitter.com/RhqgzBYzBw
— Greg Johnson (@TornadoGreg) July 28, 2015
An incredible 900+ lightning strikes past 15 minutes in the Manitoba tornado warned storm. #mbstormpic.twitter.com/uG76Hru6OP — Anthony Farnell (@AnthonyFarnell) July 28, 2015
Storm chaser ranks ‘monster’ Manitoba tornado among top 4 he’s ever seen http://t.co/o0jIKcXSXb pic.twitter.com/aUpc9KCnLD
— CBC Tech and Science (@CBCTechSci) July 28, 2015
Picture: RT@justinhobson85: Very large #tornado at about 851pm CDT. WNW of #Melita #mbstorm pic.twitter.com/uZk0zZCwHk #Manitoba #Canada
— Johnny Kelly (@stormchaser4850) July 28, 2015
Large violent tornado on the ground north of Edward, MB. #mbstorm #skstorm @reedtimmerTVN pic.twitter.com/O0aW768ovs
— Sean Schofer (@SeanSchoferTVN) July 28, 2015