Tornadoes can strike with little warning. Here are 5 tips on how to stay safe

One minute Genia Aasen and her family were walking around their Meadow Lake Provincial Park campsite, noticing the sky was darkening around them. 

Minutes later, the wind picked up and golf-ball sized hail began hurtling down. The family piled into their camper, but it started rocking. The camper's supports and legs snapped. Outside, thick tall trees collapsed around them. 

"We were all yelling we loved each other and I think we all thought we were done," Aasen said.

Two tornadoes touched down in the area Saturday, one in the edge of the park and one within the RM of Beaver River. 

One was an EF0, ranked the weakest type on a scale. However, these tornadoes can still pack a punch, with wind speeds of up to 130 kilometres an hour, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Terri Lang. 

The other was slightly stronger, an EF1, with winds up to 175 kilometres per hour.

"That's why we saw so much devastation," Lang told CBC's Saskatoon Morning.

Listen to meteorologist Terri Lang's interview with CBC's Saskatoon Morning:

Aasen's family got no advance warning or alerts from Environment Canada. That's because tornadoes are hard to predict, Lang said.

"This particular one, the clouds spun up really, really quickly. It was hard to catch on the radar. It was on the edge of the radar signal," she said. 

The tornado also took place in a more isolated area, so fewer people may have seen the warning signs. With patchy cell phone coverage, they would also have been hard-pressed to send Environment Canada an advance report, Lang said.

"That's why we always advocate for people to really be paying attention to the skies, watching to see what's coming, taking action before it hits, not while it's hitting." 

What to do

Lang offered a few tips on what people can do to protect themselves in the event of a tornado: 

• Put as many walls between yourself and the outdoors as possible, as most deaths and injuries are caused by flying debris.

• Take shelter in an inner closet, bathroom or under the stairs.

• Do not stand by windows to take photos or videos, as the windows could blow.

• Do not take cover in a car, as they can easily be rolled by winds.

• If in a high-rise building, take shelter in the lowest floor, but not the parking garage, which may flood in a thunderstorm.

Saskatchewan sees an average of 13 or 14 tornadoes a year, but there have been as few as three to as many as 33 in any given year, according to Lang. 

"You actually need really, really specific conditions for tornadoes to form. That's why we don't see them dropping out of the sky every time there's a thunderstorm."