What Was The 2007 Elie Tornado?
The 2007 Elie Tornado is well known for being the most powerful tornado to ever hit Canada. It was the only F5 tornado to ever occur in all of Canada and was also the most powerful tornado in the world in 2007. At its fastest, it had wind speeds well more than any other twister that year, coming in at 90 km/h faster than the next highest wind speed in 2007.
It is also known for being the final F5 tornado ever, soon after the tornado, there was a change from the Fujita scale to the Enhanced Fujita scale. Although there will almost certainly be EF5 tornadoes in the future, there will no longer be any more F5 tornadoes.
It should be noted however that this was also one of the least severe F5 tornadoes of all time because it touched down in a very unpopulated area at a time when people were out of town.
When Did The 2007 Elie Tornado Happen?
The 2007 Elie tornado happened on the evening of June 22, 2007, lasting slightly more than half an hour.
Where Did The 2007 Elie Tornado Happen?
As the name suggests, the 2007 Elie tornado occurred in Elie, Manitoba. Elie is an unincorporated rural community located west of Winnipeg. The tornado touched down 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Winnipeg right by the Trans-Canada Highway outside of Elie and travelled into the community, where it remained for the rest of its lifespan. Overall, the tornado travelled about 6 km (3.7 miles) throughout its life.
What Is An F5 Tornado?
An F5 is the most powerful grade of a tornado, according to the Fujita scale, which measures windspeed of the storm in question.
The Fujita scale was created by Ted Fujita and was used to measure the destructive force of these storms. They scale from F0 to F5. An F0 has winds from 64-116 km/h (40-72 mph). Each type of tornado is more powerful, and more rare than the one below it on the scale. F0 tornadoes make up almost half of all tornadoes, and F0 and F1 tornadoes combine for over 75% of all tornadoes. F4s make up about 1%, with less than 0.1% of all tornadoes hitting F5, which has wind speeds of over 419 km/h (261 mph).
The most powerful wind speed ever recorded in a tornado was recorded in a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, which had windspeeds of 517 km/h (321 mph). Fujita speculated that an F6 tornado, but described it as ‘inconceivable’. There were two instances in history of tornadoes being labelled as F6, but both were later downgraded to F5 storms.
It should be noted that the Fujita Scale was phased out, being last used in America in 2007, and last used in 2013 and replaced with the Enhanced Fujita Scale, which measures tornadoes from EF0 to EF5 but has different boundaries.
Only 67 F5 or EF5 tornadoes have ever been recorded. France and Germany have had 2 each, Argentina, Australia, Canada and Italy have each had 1, with America having the other 59. Not even the Black Friday Tornado was an F5, although it came very close. This shows how rare F5 tornadoes, such as the one in Elie in 2007, truly are.
How Powerful Was The 2007 Elie Tornado?
The power of the storm fluctuated very wildly during its lifespan. It touched down with windspeed thought to be at F1 or F2 levels and destroyed a flour mill. It entered Elie as an F0 but quickly became much more powerful. At its peak, it damaged plenty of homes, some of which were completely destroyed. One of the homes destroyed was well-built and bolted to its foundation. Despite this, it was ripped completely off its foundation and thrown into the air.
How Fast Were The Winds Of The 2007 Elie Tornado?
It should be noted that the storm was originally graded as an F4, but due to evidence found later, was upgraded to F5 much later, on September 18, 2013. At their fastest, the winds were recorded at just over 420 km/h (261 mph), just strong enough to justify the F5 rating.
How Wide Was The 2007 Elie Tornado?
The 2007 Elie Tornado was 140 meters (150 yards) wide at its widest, making it almost one and a half football fields long. However, this is unusually small compared to most other F5 or EF5 tornadoes. For comparison, the widest tornado ever was 4.2 kilometres (2.6 miles) wide and occurred in El Reno, Texas.
How Long Did The 2007 Elie Tornado Last?
The 2007 Elie tornado spawned at 6:25 local time, and lasted just over half an hour, dissipating at 7:00.
How Much Damage Did The 2007 Elie Tornado Do?
The tornado did an estimated total of $39 million worth of damages, measured in 2007 Canadian dollars. A Flour Mill, as well as several homes, were damaged or destroyed, with many cars tossed into the air and flung over 100 meters away.
How Many People Were killed Or Injured?
Luckily, due to the fact that the tornado touched down away Elie, accurate predictions from local meteorologists, proper evacuation, and the low population of Elie, nobody was killed or injured in the storm.
How Did The 2007 Elie Tornado Form?
Like most tornadoes, the 2007 Elie Tornado formed when multiple already strong weather systems collided. A low-pressure system, a warm front coming from the north, and a cold front from the west all collided. This created a humid system, as well as supercell clouds.
Supercell clouds can create what are called ‘rotating thunderstorms’, which drastically increases the probability of a tornado. Most tornadoes and tornado outbreaks happen as a result of the formation of many supercell clouds.
Was This Storm Part Of A Tornado Outbreak?
Yes, there were other tornadoes created in the same system as the 2007 Elie tornado. One of these other tornadoes was happening simultaneously with the 2007 Elie Tornado. There was an F3 tornado in the nearby unincorporated community of Oakville, Manitoba. The next day, the same storm system spawned another F3 in Pipestone, Manitoba, an F1 in Lampman, Saskatchewan, and an F0 in Carnduff Saskatchewan. Given that over 90% of tornadoes are F2 or lower, a set of 5 tornadoes including 3 that are F3 or higher is very unusual.