Confirmed tornadoes in Manitoba raise Canada's 2025 total to six
Manitoba has had a week of extremes––from wildfires and summer heat to tornadoes and a winter chill. Two new twisters confirmed in Manitoba put Canada's count up to six so far in 2025
Canada's tornado count increased by two after Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) verified twisters in Manitoba on Thursday, May 15.
There were accounts of multiple tornadoes in the province during late-day thunderstorms in the province, with reports of twisters in Sperling, Niverville and Gretna, Man. Two of the claims, near Sperling and Niverville, were verified by ECCC, on Friday, May 16.
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ECCC couldn't confirm the Gretna report due to insufficient evidence at this time, and didn't have any damage rankings for the two confirmed tornadoes, but are continuing the investigation.
However, the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) preliminarily classified the Sperling twister as an EF-0, with no damage reported.
"Despite some rotation evident at cloud base, after radar analysis, we believe this was a landspout-type tornado," said NTP, in a blog on the Sperling tornado.
Interestingly, though, it should be noted that NTP didn't verify the tornado near Niverville. Instead, the organization said the ECCC-verified twister appeared to be related to lofted dust or dirt along a gust front, associated with a large area of storm outflow. As with ECCC, it also couldn't confirm the Gretna report, citing the same findings as with its Niverville documentation.
"This is based on NTP radar analysis and, in the case of Niverville, detailed witness photos and descriptions received by NTP," said the organization in the blog.
However, NTP investigators continue to seek out visual evidence.
With the confirmation of the tornadoes near Sperling and Niverville, they bring Canada's 2025 total up to six, as of May 17.