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From tornado warnings lighting up phones to funnel clouds spinning across the sky, Saskatchewan’s severe weather season has shifted into high gear.
A series of storms moved across the province this week, bringing confirmed tornadoes, large hail, heavy rain and powerful winds to multiple communities.
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Kyle Ziolkowski, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Friday’s storms were split between two main areas.
“There were two separate areas of severe weather in Saskatchewan,” Ziolkowski said.
One area stretched through west-central Saskatchewan, including near the Battlefords and Saskatoon.
“There was a bunch of severe weather where we had thunderstorms that produced large hail anywhere from quarter size to golf ball size,” Ziolkowski said.
A tornado was confirmed near Edam on July 3, 2026. (Submitted)
He said Environment Canada confirmed tornadoes near Edam and Springwater.
“There were two tornadoes up that way,” Ziolkowski said.
A second area of severe weather developed farther south in the province, with storms moving through areas south of Regina.
The storms were also being tracked on the ground by severe weather specialist and storm chaser Jenny Hagan.
“Our severe weather season has definitely kicked into high gear, especially headed into July,” Hagan said.
“Usually this time of year we see these canola crops start blooming, and that actually starts to feed extra moisture up into the atmosphere, which fuels our severe thunderstorm risk.”
Hagan said after several quieter years, Saskatchewan is seeing a much more active storm pattern.
“We’ve seen a few slower years … due to the drought cycle that was going on and the lack of moisture in the atmosphere,” she said.
“But we’ve really seen a lot of that moisture pool into Saskatchewan this summer season, and you need moisture to fuel moisture.”
On Friday night, Hagan followed the storm system that eventually moved toward Saskatoon.
“The winds were swirling around, showing that rotation, and just about zero visibility,” she said. “It actually came close to toppling some grain bins just on the west side of the city.”
Hagan said the storm produced several funnel clouds and large hail before reaching Saskatoon.
“There were quite a few funnel clouds, just funnels popping out everywhere, a lot of rotation in these systems,” she said.
Ziolkowski said July is typically one of Saskatchewan’s most active months for severe storms, and people should pay attention when watches and warnings are issued.
For Hagan, chasing storms is about seeing the strength of Saskatchewan’s weather first-hand but she warns people not to underestimate the danger.
“It’s very intriguing to be able to witness the raw force in nature,” she said.
“But it can be very dangerous to be out in those conditions, especially with lightning.”
As storm season continues, Hagan said having weather alerts turned on can make a difference.
“You really want to have those weather alerts turned on,” Hagan said. “So you know when you need to get to safety.”
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