A potentially record-breaking summer storm season in Saskatchewan is showing no sign of letting up. Severe weather ripped through the province again over the weekend, with at least a dozen confirmed tornadoes, and several more being investigated. It has many wondering why we’re seeing so many this year.
According to Environment Canada, 27 tornadoes are confirmed to have touched down so far this year in Saskatchewan.
Twelve of those happened on Friday in places including Speers, Dundurn, and Redberry Lake. Five more unconfirmed tornados are still being investigated by Environment Canada, including potential twin tornadoes in Glaslyn on Saturday.
The outbreak of storms heading into the weekend puts an exclamation mark on what has been an incredibly volatile season so far.
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“We seem to be in a pattern that is conducive to tornadic storms and just holding there,” said David Sills with the Northern Tornado Project.
In fact, the Prairies make up about half of the national total so far in 2026.
So why so many this year?
“All the factors seem to be there this year,” said Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment Canada.
Lang points to a substantial amount of moisture leftover from a very wet spring. That is mixing with some intense summer heat, fuelling these violent storms.
It’s also the time of year when crops have taken off in many places. Right now, they are giving off a tremendous amount of moisture.
“Farmers will probably call it corn sweat. And there is huge amounts of moisture that come off, because they finally got the moisture to grow,” Lang said.
Lang says all this moisture comes after a what has been a very dry, even drought like number of years for many on the Prairies. Plus, we’re transitioning from a la Nina into an El Nino year. All of this sets up Saskatchewan for a potentially record-breaking years of tornadoes.
That record was set back in 2012 when the province saw 33 touch down in one year.
“It could be that year that we break that number,” added Lang.
With that said, Lang strongly urges people to have a plan in place, in the event dangerous weather pops up — especially for those who plan on boating or camping in the days and weeks ahead.
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