“Basically, all hell broke loose.”
That’s how CTV reporter Jill Macyshon described what happened in Virden, Manitoba last night, and it’s probably a fair statement. The entire area was slammed by either a tornado that lasted a stunning 2 to 3 hours long, or a series of tornadoes that touched down one after the other–Environment Canada still isn’t entirely sure just yet.
“We saw significant rotation on the Doppler for over two hours,” warning prepardness meteorologist Brian Proctor said. “It is possible [a tornado] was on the ground that long.”
Keep in mind the average tornado doesn’t even last 10 minutes.
Proctor did stop short of saying the two-hour tornado was a sure thing though, as the agency is still sending crews over to Virden to evaluate and analyze the area. What Environment Canada does know, however, is that all the conditions were present to create a “supercell” cyclone.
“It had beautiful, available fuel,” Proctor said, noting the hot and humid conditions the province has been experiencing over the past few days.
All that moist, warm air needed to set off disaster was a current of dry, cooler air, which arrived from Saskatchewan yesterday–right on cue.
The result was a tornado (or series of them) that were so powerful they could break concrete.
#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
Fortunately, there haven’t been any reports of injuries. Global News did report that a farm and bridge had been damaged though.
For a closer look at the destruction, check out the video above.
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