Recorded Tornado in Fort St. John

Observation by Alana Moore:

On August 21, 2020, a weak (EF0) tornado was observed in Fort St. John, British Columbia (BC). The tornado was generated during a severe thunderstorm and “blew off roofs, caused power outages, and toppled trees and fences in various parts of town” (Alaska Highway News, 2020). Tornados are a rare occurrence in BC and this tornado is the first one to be recorded in Fort St. John and surrounding area.

Comment by David Oswald:

Severe weather events are directly correlated with climate change however whether tornadoes can be tied to climate change isn’t fully understood and the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP, 2022) reveals that long term and high-quality tornado monitoring is essential in monitoring extreme weather events and their correlation to climate change.

Some good resources on the topic include:

• Dr. Greg Kopp and David Sills of the Northern Tornadoes Project. I have chosen these two as they are the leaders of the NTP which appears to be the largest database for tornadoes in Canada. ntp@uwo.ca

• Doug Lundquist, meteorologist, Environment and Climate Change of Canada. I have chosen Doug because he was the advising meteorologist reporting on previous extreme downbursts documented in Fort St. John. doug.lundquist@ec.gc.ca

Comment from LEO.ai:

The occurrence of a tornado in Fort St. John, an area where such events are not common, raises important questions about the changing patterns of severe weather events. While it is difficult to attribute any single weather event directly to climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has noted that a warming climate leads to changes in the behavior of extreme weather, including the intensity and frequency of such events (IPCC, 2021).

Reference: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/