Meteorologists are investigating eight likely tornadoes from a powerful storm system that moved through southern Saskatchewan on Thursday.

Environment and Climate Change Canada said no twisters had been confirmed by Friday morning, but staff tracked several dangerous rotating thunderstorms through the evening of June 19.

“All indicators point to numerous highly probable tornado events,” Environment Canada said in an update just after midnight Friday.

Between 4:20 and 9:10 p.m., tornadoes likely touched down near Hirsch, Frobisher, southwest of Davin, Odessa, Young and Hubbard, according to Environment Canada, which has yet to confirm or rate the storms.

Whether they were all tornadoes or not, the storms were destructive, and on Friday residents of southern Saskatchewan took stock.

In a farm yard east of Kronau, the powerful winds tipped over a grain truck and tore pieces from the roof of an outbuilding, some landing approximately a kilometre away.

At the nearby Oyama Park, seasonal camper Bobby Krznar watched a twister rip limbs from trees and damage a newly-installed children’s play structure.

What causes a tornado?

A tornado occurs when a funnel of condensation produced at the base of a thunderstorm makes contact with the ground. According to the U.S. National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), the presence of dust and debris beneath a condensation funnel is a visual sign that confirms a tornado’s presence.

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The NSSL says the most destructive tornadoes stem from supercells, which are rotating thunderstorms that produce a powerful updraft.

Environment Canada has called on residents who saw the storms on Thursday to share pictures or video, either online or by phone, to make sure the events are properly recorded in the historical data.

You can report severe weather to Environment Canada anytime you see a tornado, if it’s safe to do so, wind gusts that cause damage, hail of any size or heavy rainfall that has caused flooding.

Storm Chaser Ricky Forbes was near Frobisher yesterday. He told CTV News Friday morning his crew tracked three tornadoes in the area that left a trail of damage in their wake.

“We had a wild supercell show up, and it started diving south real fast and produced multiple tornadoes,” he said.

“So multiple downed power lines, broken, twisted. We saw multiple different oil field setups that were crushed, knocked over, and … one oil field tanker got thrown over half a mile into another farmer’s field.”

Coming just a day before the start of the summer season, Forbes says these storms are a strong indicator of what’s to come.

“Not necessarily tornadoes, but a really active storm summer. You know, right after this, we have a large moisture pooling coming up into the Canadian Prairies and that’s going to bring more storms with it.”

Environment Canada says a major low pressure system in Alberta is expected to bring “a soaking rain” to southern Saskatchewan over the weekend, with west-central areas expected to see about 40 to 80 millimetres by Sunday morning.