Instant Weather Alberta ⚡️

When we notify “Minor Rotation Detected”, most of the time the rotation weakens and no tornado occurs. We prefer it this way. #mbstorm #Winnipeg Our goal is never to create unnecessary anxiety. It’s to give people a few extra minutes to prepare for a potentially dangerous situation, in case it does develop. On June 29, that extra notification mattered. At 9:33 PM, 18 minutes before the tornado touched down, we sent a notification to Winnipeg and surrounding communities highlighting an approaching severe thunderstorm capable of producing damaging wind gusts, hail and flooding. We had already identified this storm as one to watch and were actively tracking it on our livestream as it moved toward the city, giving our community advance notice before the storm arrived. As the storm intensified, we detected several small areas of minor rotation on radar. At 9:47 PM, roughly five hours into our live coverage, we sent a second notification through our free Instant Weather app and social media pages to community members in the Winnipeg area and discussed the increasing concern live on our stream. Our notification read: “We’ve detected several small areas of minor rotation on radar with this storm line tracking east into Winnipeg and surrounding communities.” Just four minutes later, at 9:51 PM, the Northern Tornadoes Project confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down in southwest Winnipeg. QLCS tornadoes like this are among the hardest tornadoes to detect. They can form rapidly, last only a few minutes, and sometimes exist for only a couple of radar scans before dissipating. That makes providing advance notice incredibly challenging, which is why we notify when we see even subtle signs of rotation developing. We’ve seen reports that another weather source was openly dismissing the tornado threat to Winnipeg as this storm approached and has dismissed tornado threats during several active tornado warnings recently. It’s critical to understand that Canadian radar data can get very noisy in high shear environments. However, that does not mean a tornado cannot occur and that rotation embedded in that noise isn’t legitimate. Situations like this highlight why it’s important to rely on trusted, experienced weather sources with a proven track record of putting public safety first. At Instant Weather, we’ll always err on the side of caution when dangerous weather is possible. If a storm has even a small chance of producing a tornado, we’d rather give you a few extra minutes to prepare than stay silent and hope for the best. We’d much rather send a notification that ends up not being needed than miss an opportunity to let people know before a tornado strikes. Whether you’re watching our live coverage, receiving notifications through our free app, or following us on social media, our mission is simple: provide timely, accurate information that helps keep you and your family safe. If you haven’t already, download the free Instant Weather app, enable notifications and join us live on YouTube during severe weather events. Those extra minutes of advance notice can make all the difference. - Adam & the Instant Weather Team