It's tornado season in Canada

Just a friendly PSA after the tornadoes in Ontario yesterday to be aware of the weather in your area. I decided to post this after a few people interviewed on tv said they were caught off guard. Canada is second in the world in tornadoes (a distant second to the US to be sure, but some storm chasers are certain this is not just because we are further north but also because our tornadoes don't get reported because of a lack of populated areas). Don't just count on the Environment Canada warnings - our radar system is antiquated compared to the US - check out some severe weather websites in your area to get a good idea of what is going on. I've had the experience of seeing multiple funnel clouds and/or rotating wall clouds on storms that EC didn't even have a severe warning on. A good start is to watch the Weather Network or even the CBC news channel when they do the weather and assess the storm risk for the day...if you are ever in the red, or near the red, or in the 'isolated severe' area then keeping up to date on the weather during the day is a good idea.

I'm in the prairies so I follow a few prairie storm chasers on twitter to get a good idea of what the day is going to be like. I can usually get the heads up hours before anything EC puts out.

And I'd like to point out it's extra important to have a plan 'in case' of a tornado warning, especially if you are planning on camping. My parents have their RV on a lake lot and we've weathered a few storms there, keeping an eye on warnings and radar and twitter to see if we need to head up to the clubhouse for shelter. We are lucky to have that clubhouse that has a sturdy basement. So enjoy the weather and the camping, but don't forget to stay up to date on the severe stuff!

/end PSA