Alberta adds three more tornadoes to 2023 count with new review

The tornado tally for the 2023 season in Alberta has grown after three tornadoes were confirmed thanks to a hi-res satellite review.

The review, conducted by the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) every fall, involves satellite images of all treed areas to see if any areas of tornado or downburst damage were missed during the season, “usually because there were no public reports from the area.”

The review, which is done nationally, turned up three tornadoes that touched down this past summer, one at McGregor Lake in Clearwater County on June 17, rated EF1; another at Lawrence Lake near Hondo in northern Alberta on May 23, also rated EF1; and another that occurred in west-central Alberta.

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That third tornado touched down near the community of Cynthia on July 24, which was witnessed by several storm chasers.

Enhanced screenshots from this shows clear ground circulation @ECCCWeatherAB https://t.co/Gdm7AtjxVj pic.twitter.com/NyD2cAenAi

— NZP Chasers (@NZPChasers) July 26, 2023

The damage from the Cynthia tornado was also initially documented by Mark Simpson and Bill Yeung, per NTP.

Located the damage yesterday from the earlier Cynthia, AB Tornado on Monday. Mainly took down trees already damaged by fire. Damage is suggestive of low end EF1/ high end EF0 with snapped and uprooted trees. Note the rotational patterns. Remote area, nobody hurt, and no… pic.twitter.com/TLYxZU6X2o

— ChasinSpin (@ChasinSpin) July 30, 2023

NTP added that it followed up with a thorough investigation, resulting in an EF0 rating.

The tornado in Clearwater County travelled for approximately 1.05 km and had a maximum path width of 180 metres, while the tornado near Hondo had a track length of nearly 8.5 km and a maximum path width of 200 metres.

The tornado that touched down near Cynthia amassed a track length of 1.88 km and a maximum path width of 290 metres.

The addition of the three tornadoes brings the total number of touchdowns in Alberta in 2023 to 19, which included a large EF4 tornado that touched down near Didsbury, resulting in three homes being destroyed.

You can check out NTP’s full report here.