Saskatchewan records first tornado of 2026, Canada
The Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) confirmed Saskatchewan’s first tornado of 2026 after an EF0 landspout touched down near Disley, west of Regina, on May 22, while additional surveys in Ontario and Alberta raised Canada’s confirmed tornado count to 11 this year.
Farm building damaged by EF0 microburst in Lucan on May 9, 2026. Credit: NTP
The first tornado of 2026 struck Saskatchewan on May 22, the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) reports. The landspout tornado rated EF0 occurred near Disley, west of Regina, at approximately 13:30 local time (19:30 UTC) on May 22.
“Witnesses captured video and photos of a landspout south of Disley. No damage has been reported. The preliminary EF-Scale assessment is EF0-Default. Satellite imagery review is pending,” NTP said.
The Saskatchewan tornado was the 11th confirmed tornado in Canada this year. May typically marks the beginning of the more active severe weather season across parts of Canada, especially southern Ontario and the Prairie provinces.
That time of year in southern Saskatchewan. pic.twitter.com/IZcXg67xEe
— Just Bins (@JustBins) May 22, 2026
At least three tornadoes have been confirmed in Ontario, including two in the London area, while one was confirmed in Lucan.
An EF1 and an EF0 tornado struck the London area on May 19 and were confirmed by the NTP on May 22. The tornadoes were associated with a bow echo storm, which can produce both intense straight-line (downburst) winds as well as tornadoes along the leading edge of the storm.
Their surveys concluded that the brief EF0 tornado occurred near Christina, while the EF1 moved through the Lambeth, Derwent, and Mossley areas, causing widespread damage.
Previously, the NTP had also confirmed an EF1 downburst in the area with winds reaching 145 km/h (90 mph), causing significant damage.
Meanwhile, an EF0 downburst and an EF0 tornado were confirmed in Lucan and caused damage to multiple structures in the area. These were the first confirmed tornado and downburst of 2026 for Canada after surveys were completed on May 10.
The downburst had wind speeds of approximately 130 km/h (81 mph) and damaged a farm building south of Lucan at around 16:05 LT (20:05 UTC) on May 9.
The tornado struck around the same time as the downburst and damaged a solar panel south of Granton while passing through the area. A truck pulling a trailer along a nearby road was reportedly toppled. The twister had estimated winds of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) and moved westward, covering a path that was at least 1 km (0.6 miles) long.
Earlier, the NTP confirmed seven landspouts in southern Alberta on May 17 and 18. Two were confirmed south of Olds, while one was confirmed in each of the Crestomere, Didsbury, Garfield, Gull Lake, and Blackfalds areas. All seven were landspouts classified as EF0.
References:
1 First SK tornado of 2026 – NTP – May 23, 2026
2 May 9 storm in Lucan, ON area produced EF0 microburst and tornado – NTP – May 12, 2026
3 Seven landspout tornadoes over 2 days in southern AB – NTP – May 19, 2026
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
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