Researchers at Western University have published a new paper offering a more detailed picture of tornado wind speeds across Canada.
The study was led by Yongxu Liu, with contributions from Northern Tornadoes Project director David Sills and Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory director Gregory Kopp. The team developed a new spatially varying tornado occurrence model for Canada and produced updated tornado hazard maps, including estimated return period values for annual maximum tornado wind speeds based on two different footprint shapes.
The paper is open access and can be downloaded online, here.
The research was carried out through the Northern Tornadoes Project, founded at Western University in 2017 with support from social impact fund ImpactWX. The project aims to improve detection of tornado occurrence across Canada, advance understanding and prediction of severe and extreme weather, reduce harm to people and property, and study the future implications of climate change.
The Northern Tornadoes Project operates under the Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory, established at Western in 2024, alongside the Northern Hail Project and the newly launched Northern Mesonet Project.
Partners in the Northern Tornadoes Project include the University of Manitoba, York University, Pelmorex’s The Weather Network, Instant Weather and CatIQ. The project also collaborates with Environment and Climate Change Canada, Emergency Management Ontario and several Canadian and international universities.
