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Tornado hunter follows storms through Saskatchewan

Jul 10, 2017 | 7:40 PM

Famed tornado hunter and weather journalist Greg Johnson was back in Saskatchewan, hitting the ground with his team Monday, watching the weather and looking for signs of storms brewing.

Johnson stars in the television show Tornado Hunters.

“There have been a number of severe storm-systems that have rolled through the province over the last week or so,” he said. 

The expert reassured North Battleford is out of what he called the “sweet spot,” or the epicentre of tornado activity. On Tuesday, the same system that brought stormy weather into Saskatchewan Monday, would be moving off to Southern Manitoba and into North Dakota and Minnesota.

Tornadoes are most likely to develop when conditions are warm, very humid and windy.

According to Environment Canada, the type of thunderstorms that produce tornadoes often develop near warm or cold fronts, or other boundaries between warm and cold air masses.

Stormwatcher Johnson said weather patterns now for the most part in the province are typical for this time of the year.

“Every year it seems like people in Saskatchewan, people in the Prairies, and Canadians in general – we have a little bit of a short-term memory loss,” Johnson said. “We forget that this is storm season. This is when we are going to get severe weather, tornadoes, hail.”

“Like they say: ‘When thunder roars, go indoors.’”

Johnson said every year Saskatchewan gets on-average, roughly a dozen tornadoes. He expected to see wind gusts up to about 110 km/h near Foam Lake in Saskatchewan Monday, and also anticipated up to tennis-ball-sized hail.

Johnson described what a typical day as a tornado hunter out on the road with his team is like.

“We put in a lot of driving, do a lot of miles,” he said. “Sometimes there is some waiting around. Right now, we are sitting in a restaurant waiting for storms to fire up. We are in our target zone, south of Foam Lake. Now we are waiting for storms to start to develop. As soon as we see something in the radar, that is when we – our storm chasing group – starts driving to our sweet spot.”

While there have been some close calls, Johnson said he and his team are careful when hunting tornadoes. He drives a bulletproof truck with a roll-cage, designed to withstand strong winds and, of course, tornadoes. Johnson makes his living filming storms, and explained the key to shooting good video and taking compelling pictures of tornadoes is being as close as possible. 

He has travelled all across North America in his work chasing tornadoes. 

“I have seen well over 300 tornadoes in my career,” Johnson said, adding “It’s always scary. It’s always a little bit risky, but we do our best to mitigate those risks.”

Johnson said it’s the thrill of following a tornado that attracts him to his work.

“Everybody on earth is fascinated with weather. Here in Saskatchewan most people’s livelihoods depend on,” he said. “Everyone has a stake, and everyone cares about it. I have that same passion. I love seeing the storms. I love photographing them, and most importantly I love sharing my stories.”  

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW