Commonwealth _Canada _ Kathleen Fellinger and her family were enjoying a BBQ outside in the evening on a typical Saturday. The climate then changed.
“Just a very, very small amount of rain fell. However, there was a ton of lightning, and as I peered into the distance, I noticed what appeared to be a giant cloud that was simply whirling”, recalled Fellinger, who resides close to the McKell Wascana Conservation Park in southeast Regina. She observed that a funnel cloud had developed in the sky, but that it wasn’t joining the whirling cloud below.
Fellinger recalls having the thought, “If it connects, it’s going to be incredibly strong, at the time. Around 9 p.m. on Saturday, those in the Regina region with cell phones received an alert telling them that a tornado may have touched down about 10 kilometers south of the city and was moving northeast. Potential safety measures, such as looking for shelter in a basement, were suggested in the advisory.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said on its website that the tornado had really happened just before 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. It has recently been discovered that the tornado made landfall six kilometers southeast of the city.
A tornado warning was issued for portions of southeast Saskatchewan at 9 p.m. after ECCC received reports of a tornado from the general public. Thunderstorm warnings had been in effect for much of southern Saskatchewan on Saturday evening.
Due to Saturday night’s torrential rain and hail, several streets in Regina flooded and other buildings leaked. Between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., a weather station operated by the ECCC close to the airport recorded 17.1 mm of precipitation.
The heavy precipitation caused flash flooding in many areas of the city, notably the Arnheim Place neighborhood’s intersection of Winnipeg Street and College Avenue. Maximus Warby, his brother Nick, and a friend assisted in directing traffic for at least an hour through a sizable rainwater puddle at the crossing.
