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From the 1800s to today, tornadoes have occurred, even if rarely, in Atlantic Canada. [1] The area averages around 0.5-1.5 tornadoes each year.
| Date | Time (24hr Local) | Location | Rating | Notes | Path Length | Max. Width | Max. Wind Speed | Deaths | Injuries | Extra Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 5, 1859 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | FU | A tornado destroyed trees and property, and capsized a vessel where at least two drowned. [4] | >2 | ||||||
| 1872 | Westmorland County, New Brunswick | FU (Likely Strong) | An unrated tornado destroyed houses frences and trees. [5] | |||||||
| August 6, 1879 | Bouctouche, New Brunswick | F3 | A tornado destroyed many homes and caused multiple deaths. [6] | >5 | ||||||
| August 6, 1890 | Sainte-Anne Parish, New Brunswick | FU (Likely Strong) | A tornado destroyed 31 buildings. [7] | |||||||
| August 17, 1892 | O'Leary, Prince Edward Island | FU (Likely Strong) | A tornado destroyed many homes, and some barns. [8] | 1 | ||||||
| July 28, 1893 | Hanlee Grove, Prince Edward Island | FU | A tornado destroyed two barracks. [9] | |||||||
| August 2, 1893 | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | FU | A tornado uprooted trees and damaged provincial buildings. | |||||||
| August 4, 1895 | Bridgetown-Clarence-Paradise, Nova Scotia | FU (Likely Strong) | A tornado uprooted and threw trees, ripped the top story of a barn off and carried it for over a mile, with parts being driven over 3 feet into the ground. A house as well as more barns and stables were destroyed. [10] | |||||||
| July 15, 1901 | Kingsclear-New Maryland Parish, New Brunswick | FU | A tornado damaged 10 barns. [11] | |||||||
| July 7, 1934 | St. Stephen, New Brunswick | F0 | 0 | 1 | [1] | |||||
| January 30, 1954 | 23:30 | White Point Beach, Nova Scotia | F1 | A tornado as well as lightning and hail. The tornado destroyed a barn, snapped trees, and damaged cabins. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 18, 1955 | Tidnish, Nova Scotia | F1 | Three waterspouts came ashore, causing damage in Tidnish. [12] | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||||
| July 22, 1980 | 11:20 | Roseway, Nova Scotia | F0 | Two eyewitnesses saw a funnel cloud, trees were uprooted, and a fully packed camper trailer carried 3–5 m and overturned. | 1.01 km | 130m | 0 | 0 | [1] | |
| August 9, 1980 | 12:00 | Maple Green, New Brunswick | F0 | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||||
| August 15, 1980 | 17:00 | Strathgartney, Prince Edward Island | F0 | Damage area extended from Strathgartney to North Whiltshire. Trees uprooted, corn fields flattened, mobile home lifted off its blocks. Witness saw 'a thick dark cloud' reminded her of the severe hail storm experienced a few previously. | 1.63 km | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||
| August 16, 1980 | 14:30 | Northport, Nova Scotia | F0 | Witness described funnel as great slender funnel shape. | 20m | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||
| September 28, 1980 | 18:15 | Cape Traverse, Prince Edward Island | F0 | Boat carried 15 m from shore. Garage was damaged; flying garage door may have hit the home since windows were smashed. Resident said 'it was like something came and hit the place.' Waterspouts had been seen by CN Marines ferries. A 9,000 kg oil tanker was blown over. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 8, 1981 | 15:00 | Scotchtown, New Brunswick | F2 | 3.6 km | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 19, 1982 | 15:00 | Bathurst, New Brunswick | F1 | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||||
| September 9, 1982 | 16:30 | Wilmont, Prince Edward Island | F0 | Two girls saw skies darken and heard a strong wind, they ran to the basement. House had shingles removed, a 1,400 kg barn was lifted off its mooring and moved 60 cm. Storm 'lasted about 6 seconds.' | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| August 3, 1983 | Gander Bay South, Newfoundland | F0 | Report of tornado from former meteorologist John Bursey in vicinity of Sunshine Pool, Gander River. | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||||
| September 7, 1983 | 15:30 | McNamee, New Brunswick | F1 | Historical searches of newspaper articles and satellite imagery provide no evidence for the tornado. | 4.8 km | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||
| August 30, 1987 | St. Lawrence, Newfoundland | F0 | Tornado reported in St. Lawrence area (Flight Services Specialist at YYT and observers at ADS). | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||||
| July 16, 1991 | 15:30 | Grand Falls, Newfoundland | F1 | Despite F1 rating no damage documented; winds 110 km/h reported. | 110 km/h | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||
| June 12, 1992 | 15:30 | Fredricton, New Brunswick | F0 | Funnel cloud sighted by 2 observers NW of Fredericton. Tornado with a 300 m by 50 m track observed 15:30-18:00 just NE of Fredericton. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 10, 1993 | 18:40 | McGiveny, New Brunswick | F1 | 18:40-18:55 sighting confirmed. Golf-ball size hail and many mature trees broken or uprooted. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| June 18, 1994 | 16:00 | Mactaquac, New Brunswick | F1 | Steel roofing torn off a barn. 45 kg cow mats moved. Trees uprooted. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 26, 1995 | 17:30 | Fredricton, New Brunswick | F1 | Inflatable roof torn from tennis complex, damage to vehicles from debris, and power poles downed. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 26, 1995 | 20:30 | Keswick Ridge, New Brunswick | F2 | Roof torn from building, trees uprooted, funnel cloud spotted moving away from area. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| September 6, 1996 | 14:00 | Trinity, Newfoundland | F1 | A number of flimsy structures are damaged by wind losing walls and roofs. Debris from shoreline wind blown through the wall of a structure. Patio furniture/muskoka chairs collapsed. Note that 2:00 local time is approximate based on radar imagery and witness info. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| June 24, 1997 | 17:15 | Lantz, Nova Scotia | F0 | Brief tornado touchdown in ball field. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 4, 1997 | 13:30 | Grand Falls, New Brunswick | F1 | Trail of destruction in a field, farmer's field ripped up, a building under construction was damaged and roof torn off. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 10, 1998 | 14:00 | Charleston, New Brunswick | F2 | Total destruction of mobile home which was thrown 30 m. 90 m by 7 km path of damage. Minor injuries to residents in home. | 7 km | 90m | 0 | 2 | [1] | |
| July 18, 1999 | 17:00 | Lakeville, New Brunswick | F0 | Probable F1 Tornado downed 30 trees. Also large hail and heavy rain. No injuries. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 18, 1999 | 18:00 | Durham Bridge, New Brunswick | F0 | Probable F0 Tornado, downed a few trees. snapped power lines, no injuries. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| August 18, 1999 | Pugwash, Nova Scotia | F0 | Confirmed event from top 10 weather stories page. 'A weak tornado, a rarity at any time in Nova Scotia, touched down on August 18 in Pugwash, tearing the dining room off a café and carrying it across a parking lot, leaving behind the kitchen with a dazed cook and her manager'. | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||||
| July 4, 2002 | 10:45 | Saint-Jacques, New Brunswick | F1 | Site surveyed by MSC forecaster. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 31, 2004 | 17:00 | Saint-Jacques, New Brunswick | F1 | Trees twisted off or snapped at the trunk and siding from home removed. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 13, 2005 | 12:30 | Jacksontown, New Brunswick | F1 | F1 rating with no damage description. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 2, 2006 | 19:00 | South Johnville-Argyle, New Brunswick | F2 | Confirmed tornado around 22:00 UTC. Severe damage to power lines and houses. Downed trees. Heavy rain and hail 2–3 cm in diameter. NTP (2024) - A large set of photographs was sent which led to revisiting this case. Sentinel-2 and Google Earth aerial imagery show a long track with heavy forest damage and multiple buildings (all assumed barns) destroyed and later removed. Globe and Mail article also has local resident saying barn was flattened. Rating upgraded from F1 to F2. | 19.5 km | 1.2 km | 0 | 0 | [1] | |
| July 2, 2006 | 19:25 | Nashwaak Lake, New Brunswick | F2 | EC-Operations had noted that there was also damage reported in the vicinity of Miramichi Lake. Following the work on the South Johnville - Argyle tornado, this area was examined for evidence of damage. A long path entirely through forested areas was found using Sentinel-2 and Google Earth aerial imagery, with multiple large areas with most or all trees down (harvesting was clearly underway as seen in Google Earth imagery). The path has several curves but no sharp bends. It is likely that this tornado was caused by the same supercell, therefore the time was estimated as being 25 min following the start of the first tornado. This and the previous tornado are the widest tornadoes confirmed in Atlantic Canada. | 22.8 km | 1.2 km | 0 | 0 | [1] | |
| August 15, 2006 | 18:00 | Pokemouche-Evangeline, New Brunswick | F1 | Tornado impacted the area of Pokemouche and Evangeline. Hail, damaging winds and intense lightning were reported in the region. A tornado swept along a corridor of 20–50 metres wide and 3-5 kilometres long extending from Pokemouche through Evangeline. The tornado, estimated in the lower F1 range (wind estimated around 120 km/h), caused structural damage to a few properties and uprooted/snapped a few trees along the corridor. The sighting of the actual funnel cloud/tornado was reported by a few members of the public. | 4.02 km | 50m | 0 | 0 | [1] | |
| June 16, 2007 | Petitcodiac, New Brunswick | F0 | The storm knocked down trees and hurled pieces of playground equipment and wheelbarrows long distances. In one incident, the twister picked up a trampoline from a front lawn and threw it 18 metres into a pasture. It also hurled two cast iron rockers (weighing more than 50 kg each) about the same distance. Made F-scale assessment based on description above and using wind damage table. | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||||
| July 29, 2007 | 16:00 | Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland | F0 | Witnesses describe seeing tornado touch down in a remote area (possible across a lake) near Norris Point. No office follow-up as it did not appear to cause any structural or property damage. Time estimated from archived radar. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 29, 2007 | 17:30 | Gander Bay, Newfoundland | F0 | Reports were that it first touched down at Wings Point, on the NW side of Gander Bay, crossed the Bay, then moved over Main Point on the SE side of the Bay. A few snowmobile trailers were flipped over as it passed, as well as a couple of ride-on lawnmowers, and a residential deck. Several trees were snapped. An area of grass was also flattened. Associated with a severe thunderstorm outbreak on July 29, likely a supercell. Time estimate from archived radar. No injuries or fatalities. | 4 km | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||
| July 20, 2013 | 19:20 | Jesmeg-Whites Cove- Cambridge Narrows-Codys, New Brunswick | EF1 | ECCC in Atlantic Region apparently did a survey but files are unavailable. Media did report that ECCC rated the tornado as EF1 however. Canadian Press articles had enough information to get a rough start location, and Landsat was used to determine the first half of the track. There were reports of barns down in a few locations but unclear to what degree and the quality of construction, so used lower bound of DOD8 (EF1). Tree damage seen via Landsat also supports only EF1. The second half of the track is estimated from videos of the tornado crossing the lake and damage near Cambridge Narrows and Codys. Radar from US side shows a clear mesocyclone with a supercell crossing the area, which provided the time. | 24 km | 500m | 150 km/h | 0 | 0 | [1] |
| August 1, 2015 | 15:50 | Sheephouse Falls, New Brunswick | EF1 | Satellite imagery review revealed a historical damage track through forested area. EF-scale assessment based on swaths of worst tree damage is DOD5 for DI C-T, with max wind speed estimated at 145 km/h. No ground survey conducted, no damage reports found. | 4.69 km | 160m | 145 km/h | 0 | 0 | [1] |
| July 18, 2016 | 17:30 | Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick | EF1 | About 120 ha. of trees blown down. 30,000 tonnes of fallen timber salvaged by J. D. Irving Co. Lower-bound wind speeds because of shallow ground in the area. Tornado moved from WSW to ENE. Black Brook, NB WSW of Boston Brook, NB. NTP (2024) - Satellite imagery review revealed the tornado damage track, with a length of 8.85 km and max. path width of 330 m. | 8.85 km | 330m | 145 km/h | 0 | 0 | [1] |
| August 7, 2016 | Grand Mira South, Nova Scotia | EF0 | A tornado was confirmed near Grand Mira South, Nova Scotia. | 0 | 0 | [1] | ||||
| August 7, 2018 | 18:15 | Knowlesville, New Brunswick | EF1 | Satellite imagery review of a storm track revealed a tornado damage path through forested areas. High-resolution aerial imagery was collected in August 2018. Damage assessed as EF1, with an estimated max. wind speed of 145 km/h, track length of 38.3 km and max. path width of 490 m. | 38.3 km | 490m | 145 km/h | 0 | 0 | [1] |
| September 3, 2018 | 21:00 | Rectangle Lake, Labrador | EF2 | Satellite imagery review revealed a tornado damage path in forested areas south of Labrador City. Tornado damage assessed as EF2, with an estimated max. wind speed of 190 km/h, track length of 3.91 km and max. path width of 320 m. | 3.91 km | 320m | 190 km/h | 0 | 0 | [13] |
| June 30, 2021 | 14:45 | Stewiacke, Nova Scotia | EF1 | Structural damage and tree damage was reported in the Stewiacke area following a storm passing through. An ECCC ground survey was completed on July 1, 2021. Upon NTP analysis of survey photos and drone imagery collected by the public, EF1 tornado damage was confirmed at a farm property in the community, with an estimated track length of 620 m, max. path width of 50 m and max. wind speed of 155 km/h. | 0.62 km | 50m | 155 km/h | 0 | 0 | [1] |
| July 22, 2021 | 15:44 | Antrim, Nova Scotia | EF0 | Witness near Antrim captured video of a tornado passing within a few kilometres and could see trees bending in the distance. No damage reported and satellite imagery review revealed no visible damage. The EF-Scale assessment is default EF0. | 0 | 0 | [1] | |||
| July 21, 2022 | 18:45 | Wild Goose Lake, New Brunswick | EF2 | Satellite imagery review of a storm track of interest revealed a tornado damage path through forested areas near Wild Goose Lake, north of Summit Depot. Damage assessed as EF2 tornado, with an estimated max. wind speed of 190 km/h, track length of 3.03 km and max. path width of 290 m. [14] | 3.03 km | 290m | 190 km/h | 0 | 0 | [2] |
| August 24, 2023 | 19:50 | Point Riche, Newfoundland | EF0 | Witnesses in the Port au Choix area captured photos of a waterspout over the Gulf of St. Lawrence that came ashore at Point Riche. Several picnic tables were damaged. Preliminary damage assessment is EF0 tornado, with estimated max. wind speed of 110 km/h. Information available insufficient to accurately estimate track length, max. path width and tornado motion. | 110 km/h | 0 | 0 | [2] | ||
| June 30, 2024 | 15:15 | Carlow, New Brunswick | EF0 | House and tree damage was reported in the Carlow area after a storm passed through. No injuries were reported. Satellite imagery revealed some tree damage in the area. An NTP ground and drone survey was completed on July 4–5, 2024, documenting the reported damage. Damage assessed as EF0 tornado, with an estimated max. wind speed of 125 km/h, track length of 7.29 km and max. path width of 300 m. | 7.29 km | 300m | 125 km/h | 0 | 0 | [2] |
| June 30, 2024 | 15:20 | Centre Glassville, New Brunswick | EF0 | Tree damage was reported in the Foreston area after a storm passed through. No injuries were reported. Satellite imagery revealed additional tree damage along the storm track. An NTP ground and drone survey was completed on July 4–5, 2024, documenting tree damage from Centre Glassville to east of Foreston. Possible downburst damage was also documented by the team. Tornado damage preliminarily assessed as EF0, with an estimated max. wind speed of 130 km/h, track length of 16.4 km and max. path width of 650 m. | 16.4 km | 650m | 130 km/h | 0 | 0 | [2] |
| November 1, 2024 | 17:00 | Harvey, New Brunswick | EF0 | - | 1.46 km | 120m | 115 km/h | 0 | 0 | [2] |
| November 1, 2024 | 17:25 | Sheffield, New Brunswick | EF1 | - | 11.9 km | 400m | 135 km/h | 0 | 0 | [2] |
| November 1, 2024 | 18:35 | Churchs Corner, New Brunswick | EF1 | - | 3.99 km | 150m | 150 km/h | 0 | 0 | [2] |
| # | Max. Path Width | Location | Rating | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1(Tied) | 1200m | South Johnville-Argyle, New Brunswick | F2 | July 2, 2006 |
| 1(Tied) | 1200m | Nashwaak Lake, New Brunswick | F2 | July 2, 2006 |
| 2 | 650m | Centre Glassville, New Brunswick | EF0 | June 30, 2024 |
| 3 | 500m | Jesmeg-Whites Cove-Cambridge Narrows-Codys, New Brunswick | EF1 | July 20, 2013 |
| 4 | 490m | Knowlesville, New Brunswick | EF1 | August 7, 2018 |
| 5 | 400m | Sheffield, New Brunswick | EF1 | November 1, 2024 |
| 6 | 330m | Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick | EF1 | July 18, 2016 |
| 7 | 320m | Rectangle Lake, Labrador | EF2 | September 3, 2018 |
| 8 | 300m | Carlow, New Brunswick | EF0 | June 30, 2024 |
| 9 | 290m | Wild Goose Lake, New Brunswick | EF2 | July 12, 2022 |
| 10 | 160m | Sheephouse Falls, New Brunswick | EF1 | August 1, 2015 |
| 11 | 150m | Churchs Corner, New Brunswick | EF1 | November 1, 2024 |
| 12 | 130m | Roseway, Nova Scotia | F0 | July 22, 1980 |
The Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP), founded at Western University in 2017 with the support of social impact fund ImpactWX, aims to better detect tornado occurrence throughout Canada, improve severe and extreme weather understanding and prediction, mitigate against harm to people and property, and investigate future implications due to climate change.
