Project Reports
Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2-6-2023
URL with Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.5206/ntpr1894
Abstract
NTP’s fourth year of detecting, surveying and documenting tornadoes and other damaging wind events across Canada saw a return to a more familiar pattern. In 2021, only two tornadoes were recorded across the Prairies over the 60 days with the highest climatological frequency (mid-June to mid-August).In 2022, 39 tornadoes were confirmed there, with 33 of them during that peak period.
However, a catastrophic spring derecho set the stage for a very different and very active season in Ontario and Québec. The May 21st derecho is now one of the most deadly and costly thunderstorm events on record in Canada. While over a billion dollars in insured losses was recorded, 12 people lost their lives and at least another 12 were injured. The storm’s damage path extended over 1,000 km across the most densely populated region in Canada. Though NTP field teams were deployed shortly after the event occurred, it took the rest of the summer to fully investigate this devastating event.
Through the rest of the season, Ontario and Québec recorded 77 tornadoes, nearly double what was recorded across the entire Prairies. And the total number of tornadoes across Canada during the 2022 season is tied for the highest we’ve recorded at 117 – and closer to the 150 or so that we thought might be occurring based on statistical analysis. So, it appears that the number of 'missing tornadoes' is indeed dropping due to the efforts of NTP.
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