A local woman, Kathleen Schlosser, was enjoying a day at the beach when a tornado touched down.

"We were just relaxing, and it was hot, sunny, then we saw some guys taking pictures of the sky and we looked over and there was a funnel cloud over there. We didn't think it was going to turn into anything but then we saw the bottom where it was on the hill and it was just dirt, came up out of nowhere. It was pretty wild."

a tornado in the sky

The tornado only lasted about 5 minutes once it touched down.

The joke of the day was, "because the combine from the movie Twister is actually at Manitou, we were making jokes that the twister was coming back for its combine."

The storm tracked southeast from Manitou Beach and hit Foam Lake along the way. There was extensive damage done to that area resulting in a loss of power from approximately 6:30 pm until Thursday. SaskPower is currently working on the situation in Foam Lake. The majority of customers do have power back, but some will still be without power until the full repairs can be completed later Thursday evening around 5:00 pm is the estimated time of return.

Remember to stay safe during unpredictable weather.

Here are some tips from Red Cross Canada.

  • Know the difference between a tornado warning and a tornado watch. A tornado warning means a tornado is already occurring or will occur soon in your area. Evacuate if advised to do so. A tornado watch means a tornado is possible in your area. Stay alert for more information.

  • If a tornado watch or warning has been issued, head to a safe location, like a basement or lower level of the building. Stay away from external doors, windows and walls. 

More tips from the Red Cross can be found here.