Powerful Sask. storm winds rip barn off foundation, destroy grain bins
A farmer near the village of Goodsoil says wind storms that tore through northwestern Saskatchewan on Monday nearly sucked his 80-year-old father out of the house.
Mark Weber said he was in Meadow Lake when he got a call about the storm and headed home.
“When we got closer to our farms there, we could see that there was a lot of debris thrown on the road. There's some plastic in the ditches. As we got closer we could see more and more trees had fallen on the road,” Mark Weber told CTV News.
“A lot of the trees that were my grandparents, trees that they planted and you can see the roots were torn right out and a lot of trees were twisted up and broken in half, like halfway up the tree. And it was there was a lot of damage to the yard. The shingles were off the house,” Weber said.
He said they had lost a few grain bins.
“We lost our barn that our grandfather had built years ago. It actually looks like it picked the barn up and moved it directly back about eight feet off the foundation and the corrals were completely demolished.”
It’s not clear if a tornado touched down in the area, but Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is investigating.
“We had no indication based on radar or eyewitness reports or anything like that of a tornado in the area. So at this point in time, we can't confirm or deny that a tornado has occurred. The investigation is ongoing,” ECCC meteorologist Sara Hoffman told CTV News.
Reports and photos have been circulating on social media showing some of the building damage in Peerless, near Goodsoil.
Weber said his 80-year-old father was home when the storm hit.
“He went to go out to move his vehicle and when he opened the door, the door was gone. (It) immediately tried to suck him out of the house. He managed to stay in the doorway,” Weber said.
“He laid down on the floor of the house. And he crawled back into the house as much as he could. He's not able to move very well and he had to lay on the floor there for a good 15 minutes while it was raining and the wind was blowing. He said that it was like somebody started up a jet engine in his house.”
Weber said his father was doing a little better, but was shaken by the experience.
“He's having a bit of a hard time with it. It was very, very scary for him. I'm sure he was the only one home so it was not a good situation.”
He said that he was also upset by the damage caused by the storm.
“To come home to something like that and see your grandparents' work, your father's work and some of your work just completely destroyed in a matter of minutes, it can be overwhelming.”
Hoffman cautioned identifying the storm as a tornado.
“It's not just tornadoes that can cause damage like that, plow winds or straight-line wind events can often cause damage that looks pretty similar,” Hoffman said. “So that might fit this case a little bit better than a tornado would.”
Hoffman said conditions in the area were ripe for severe weather.
“We had a tornado watch in effect yesterday and certainly the conditions were there for significant and severe thunderstorms and we did have large hail reported just south of the area yesterday as well.”
Hoffman said some of the reports from Monday include severe hail in the Meadow Lake region, heavy rain near Prince Albert and large hail around Lloydminster.
“It was a very active day, but no tornadoes officially on the books, at least at this point in time.”
Parts of the province may see more wild weather today, according to ECCC.
“There is both a heat warning and a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for a large swath of Saskatchewan,” Hoffman said.
“It's now mostly through central Saskatchewan central and kind of northern grain belt region.”
ECCC said that conditions could result in severe thunderstorms with strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain.
With files from Tyler Barrow
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.