As a tornado destroyed Joplin, Missouri, yesterday, storm chaser Greg Johnson was in the area chasing other storms.

Johnson wasn't tracking that storm for his own safety, but went to the region on Monday and says he's never seen anything like it, "I was in Arkansas on April 27th for the super out break, the town that I was in was hit, it was devastated as well, but it's not even close to what I'm seeing here in Joplin"

The destruction so far is unheard of says Johnson, "from what we can tell this storm leveled in excess of two thousand structures."

The countdown is on to the unofficial start of summer.

Provincial parks open for the season, this Thursday, and Mary-Anne Wihak with the Ministry of Parks says they're hoping for more warm, windy weather in the next week in the northwest.

"There's still some snow on the ground in some patches and still a bit of ice on the lakes, so we haven't got our boat docks and launches in place for Battlefords Provincial Park or Meadow Lake yet," said Wihak.

A reserve near Melfort has moved 50 people from its community due to health and safety concerns resulting from flooding.

James Smith Cree Nation was forced to move residents Monday after major issues with roads in the community were escalated from heavy rain.

“Over the weekend with all the rain we got plus the weekend before that, we had these roads that were flooded over,” said Mike Marion, health director with the band.

A couple of funnel clouds have been spotted across Saskatchewan Monday afternoon.

A handful of people have reported funnel clouds in the Osler, Rosthern and Kindersley areas, said John Paul Cragg, meteorologist with Environment Canada. None of the funnel clouds have touched down, he said.

Flooding is causing problems in Saskatchewan for the third straight summer.

Places north of Prince Albert, including Waskesiu and Anglin Lake have seen about 125 millimetres of rain in the last few days.

That has led to washed-out highways, and concerns about homes.

A localized flood in the town of Waskesiu, near Prince Albert, had long-time residents shaking their heads  Friday afternoon.

After several days of heavy rains, a creek that drains into Waskesiu Lake overflowed, sending water into town streets, a cabin site and other areas.

“We just had monsoon-like rain coming down and it just continued and continued and then the water started flowing,” said George Wilson, Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce manager.

The RM of Corman park has had to close several roads after almost a week of heavy rain.

Three and a half inches of rain since last Sunday brought water back up on some spots that flooded earlier this year.

"The area particualrly between highway 11 and 12 in that Martensville, Warman area was still under a lot of water and that much rain has really put them back over the top," said administrator Adam Tittemore.

Spring flooding in Corman Park led to a week long state of emergency earlier this spring.

A rain fall warning has been lifted for Saskatoon. But it'll still be a pretty wet Saturday in the city.

"We're looking at a showery day (Saturday). Probably going to be in the order of 10 millimetres or so," said Environment Canada's David Baggaley.

Areas north of Saskatoon will see more than twice that amount. A rainfall warning remains in effect for areas north of city including Martensville, Warman, Rosthern, Wakaw, Prince Albert, Duck Lake, Meadow Lake, and Big River.

ccarr@rawlco.com

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Environment Canada is issuing a heavy rainfall warning for parts of Saskatchewan over the next few days.

The rain will start Thursday night and is expected to last through Saturday, possibly bringing more than 100 millimetres of precipitation. Saskatoon can expect between 50 to 80 millimetres (about two to three inches).

The shower will bring a quick 10 to 15 millimetres worth of rain before moving north, according to meteorlogist David Baggaley with Environment Canada.