Winnipeg’s River Heights neighborhood is one of two communities dealing with the aftermath of a twister. The Northern Tornado Project (NTP) confirmed that two EF1 tornadoes touch downed during Sunday’s storm: one in Winnipeg’s River Heights and another in the rural community of Bénard. TNP, which operates out of Western University, said one person was hurt after a tornado touched down east of Portage la Prairie, in the community of Bénard. It touched down shortly before 6 p.m., according to a witness report shared with NTP. The organization said several buildings and grain bins were damaged due to max wind speeds of 165 km/h. Roughly half an hour later in Winnipeg’s River Heights neighbourhood, another tornado was confirmed. NTP said wind speeds maxed out at 155 km/h. “It seemed incredulous,” Darryl Gervais said Tuesday. “My car (on Lindsay Street) having been rolled by the wind from the curb to a house, and the power lines down — quite something like in a movie.” Those winds caused thousands of Manitoba Hydro customers to lose power, with 600 of them going without power for more than three days. NTP said it conducted surveys using drones, assessed damage, and reviewed satellite imaging to determine the tornadoes.
