Ontario has documented the first tornado in five of the past 10 years.
First-year tornado occurrences
April 12, 2025: Rolling Hills, Alta.
EF-0 (default, no damage)
Short track: 0.76 km
Satellite confirmed path through cropland
Alberta landspout tornado near Rolling Hills on April 12, 2025. (Bantry Seed Farms/Submitted to The Weather Network)
March 16, 2024: Malden Centre, Ont.
May 11, 2023: Cayley, Alta.
EF-0 (default, no damage)
Video confirmed landspout
May 15, 2022: Casselman, Ont.
May 17, 2022: Caron, Sask.
May 12, 2021: Saskatoon, Sask.
EF-0 (landspout)
No damage reported
May 21, 2020: Saanich, B.C.
April 24, 2019: Peers, Alta.
May 4, 2018: Stag Lake (South Nipissing), Ont.
May 22, 2018: Regina, Sask.
April 11, 2017: Thamesford, Ont.
EF-1 (150 km/h winds)
Significant damage: Barn roof, trees, hydro poles
Long track: 11 km, width 200 metres
March 16, 2016: Clifford, Ont.
EF-1 (170 km/h)
Damage path: 3.5 km long, 200 metres wide
Grain bins blown up to 200 metres, severe barn damage
Most of the first tornadoes are weak landspouts, but several have kicked off the season with damaging, EF-1 events.
Over the next few weeks, it will be increasingly likely that Canada will record its first tornado of the year. The highest probability of the event falls on the Prairies or across southern Ontario.
Historically, most seasons start with a weaker landspout forming along developing boundaries. But as recent years show, a stronger tornado can occasionally arrive much earlier, giving us a reminder of how the severe weather season in Canada can ramp up quickly when the right conditions align.