Large landspout tornado touches down near Griffin, Saskatchewan

A large landspout tornado touched down near Griffin, Saskatchewan, a prairie and boreal province in western Canada, on Saturday, June 23, 2018. It was one of at least two twisters spotted in the area that day.

The tornado was on the ground for about 10 minutes around 17:45 local time, Environment Canada said, confirming the twister as a landspout tornado.

While landspout tornadoes tend to be a little weaker than their supercell cousins, they certainly can cause damage and 'are not to be taken lightly,' Environment Canada meteorologist Mark Melsness said.

Locals said there were no emergency alerts or weather warnings.

Van Stavern family, who took the video above, said they were initially shocked that they had not received a tornado warning from the Saskatchewan government's emergency alert system.

"We would have hidden in the basement if the tornado had gotten any closer," they said, adding that they never planned for how they would respond to a tornado because they had never seen one touch down in their area before. 

Saturday's tornado did not cause any damage as it touched down in an empty field. This gave it the lowest rating of EF-0.

State meteorologists warned residents they should seek shelter if they see a tornado, as blowing debris and the accompanying lightning can be deadly.

Featured image: Landspout tornado touches down near Griffin, Canada on June 23, 2018. Credit: Chelsey Van Stavern.