The consequences of a hurricane can be devastating, which is why a recent report from the Northern Tornado Project that showed most tornadoes in Canada arrived without warning caused a stir.

Dr. David Sills, Executive Director of the Northern Tornado Project at Western University, said, "The results were not entirely impressive."

A study conducted over the last three years of Canadian tornado data by the Northern Tornado Project showed that only 12 percent of tornadoes in Canada were preceded by a warning from Environment Canada and more than 70 percent struck without warning.

In 2020, there was no warning for 53 out of 76 tornadoes, and last year, 61 out of 81 tornadoes arrived without warning.

Since 2019, 163 out of 221 tornadoes occurred without a warning issued by Environment Canada.

Sills, who used to work at Environment Canada before joining the Northern Tornado Project, said Environment Canada has goals to provide a 10-minute lead time.

The report indicates they have not met this standard often during the past three years, which government forecasters say proves how difficult it is to predict tornadoes.

Joan Saint-Cyr, Director of Forecasting Services at Environment Canada, said, "It is difficult, especially in Canada, where the majority of our tornadoes are F0 or F1, so they can be very short, and have a very small path." But they are working on improving radar capabilities and how to inform people of the arrival of a major storm.

Saint-Cyr added, "I think there are some examples in the States of using polygons to determine the storm path or tornado direction.

I also think these are tools we hope to see in our Canadian system in the coming years.

Sills said, "Just receiving that warning call, I think, is a step forward in realizing there is a problem and that we can do things to improve it."