Probable tornado near Manitoba First Nation

A tornado appears to have touched down near a Manitoba First Nation on Wednesday, although Environment Canada says it can't say for sure.

Pictures and video shared on social media show what looks like a tornado forming in the area of Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, around 430 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg on Wednesday afternoon.

CBC meteorologist John Sauder said gusty storms made their way across southern and central Manitoba Wednesday, but were difficult to track because there's no radar coverage in the region around the First Nation.

Sauder said the images and video shared on social media suggest a weak landspout tornado touched down in the area.

A spokesperson for Environment Canada added it's hard to say for sure from the online footage alone, because the videos don't show it touching ground.

Based on what he saw online, Sauder said it appears the tornado was on the ground for several minutes and will likely be rated as an EF-0 strength tornado, the weakest rating possible.

​Keathon Kematch said he was riding his ATV in the area at around 2:30 p.m. when he saw the funnel descend and touch down, about one or two kilometres outside the reserve.

"All I thought was just run, drive away, my heart was just pounding," Kematch said.

Councillor Derry Hellwege said many community members were outside at the time for Aboriginal Day celebrations, a school graduation ceremony and set-up for a fair.​

"There was a lot of people scared, especially kids," he said. "My girls were scared, they were crying."

Outside the First Nation, severe thunderstorms knocked out power for customers across the southern and central part province, including more than 8,000 people in Winnipeg.