Northern Tornadoes Project 2018/19 Report

Three years ago, we set our sights on finding at least a few undocumented tornado tracks in the remote forests of northern Ontario. We have covered greater distances and nurtured bigger ambitions since then. From northern Ontario to all of Canada, from aircraft surveys to drones and satellites, from on-the- ground damage investigations to artificial intelligence analyses, the Northern Tornadoes Project is one of the most comprehensive tornado research projects in the country. It aims to better detect tornado occurrences throughout Canada, improve communication of tornado science and risk, and mitigate against harm to people and property. NTP also seeks to increase knowledge of tornado climatology to better understand trends due to climate change. This report is our journey through the past three years. It tells you where we have been, and where we are headed. The Northern Tornadoes Project took off through generous donations from Toronto-based social impact fund ImpactWX and Western University. The funds got the project started, and helped expand it from one province to the whole nation. We also acquired cutting-edge technology, and built an expert team of researchers, engineers, and meteorologists. This includes collaborations with Environment and Climate Change Canada, and research groups in Canada, United States, and the United Kingdom

Northern Tornadoes Project. Annual Report 2020

NORTHERN TORNADOES PROJECT: IMPACT AT A GLANCE Entered into working partnerships with University of Manitoba, York University and The Weather Network Acquired cutting-edge drone technology, allowing us to obtain high-quality, highly accurate damage survey data and images Obtained an advanced drone licence, allowing us to fly drones longer distances without keeping the drone in sight Conducted 409 NTP investigations, 292 Planet satellite surveys, 31 ground surveys, 24 drone surveys and 4 aircraft surveys Verified the occurrence of 77 tornadoes across Canada in 2020. NTP investigations increased the verified tornado count by 166% Created a more useful, user-friendly Dashboard and Open Data Site Published an NTP overview article in the high-impact journal Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Began documenting the human cost of tornadoes and highlighting stories of loss and resiliency following the Angus, ON (2014) and Dunrobin, ON (2018) tornadoes Became 100% carbon-neutral through a partnership with Tree Canada Increased Twitter and Facebook follows and user engagement throughout the year, including the tornado off-season Held successful, well-attended live-casts and online classroom sessions with researchers, journalists, citizen scientists and schoolchildren Covered by 59 media outlets including CBC, Canadian Geographic, TV and radi

Northern Tornadoes Project. Annual Report 2022

NTP’s fourth year of detecting, surveying and documenting tornadoes and other damaging wind events across Canada saw a return to a more familiar pattern. In 2021, only two tornadoes were recorded across the Prairies over the 60 days with the highest climatological frequency (mid-June to mid-August).In 2022, 39 tornadoes were confirmed there, with 33 of them during that peak period. However, a catastrophic spring derecho set the stage for a very different and very active season in Ontario and Québec. The May 21st derecho is now one of the most deadly and costly thunderstorm events on record in Canada. While over a billion dollars in insured losses was recorded, 12 people lost their lives and at least another 12 were injured. The storm’s damage path extended over 1,000 km across the most densely populated region in Canada. Though NTP field teams were deployed shortly after the event occurred, it took the rest of the summer to fully investigate this devastating event. Through the rest of the season, Ontario and Québec recorded 77 tornadoes, nearly double what was recorded across the entire Prairies. And the total number of tornadoes across Canada during the 2022 season is tied for the highest we’ve recorded at 117 – and closer to the 150 or so that we thought might be occurring based on statistical analysis. So, it appears that the number of \u27missing tornadoes\u27 is indeed dropping due to the efforts of NTP