iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Alois M. Holzer @alois-m-holzer.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

ESSL celebrating its 20th birthday today 🎉 in Wiener Neustadt with its members, partners and employees.

271

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 01/09/2026

The CSSL recently held a mini-'conference' where all of our many interns presented what they had worked on over the summer, now that summer internships have ended. Fantastic work on these, and on the work over the summer. Could seriously compete with other conferences we've attended :-) Pics below.

060

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Western University @westernu.ca · 27/08/2026

With $8 million in federal funding, #WesternU has recruited internationally recognized severe storm expert Seth Guikema as the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Climate Risk and Resilience Analytics. Read more: news.westernu.ca/2026/08/eddi...

0113

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Mesonet Project @westernunmp.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

We're excited to introduce CSSL Weather Intelligence - the next generation of (and new name for) the Canadian Mesonet Portal. weather.cssl.ca brings together weather observations, numerical weather models, radar, satellite, and historical event data in a single platform.

1147

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Hail Project @westernunhp.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

**Survey Announcement** Significant hail damage to homes and vehicles has been reported in and around Springbrook, Alberta from a storm on Sunday, Aug 23. The Northern Hail Project plans to conduct a ground survey of hail impacts in the community this Thursday (Aug 27). 1/2

132

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Hail Project @westernunhp.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

We are also aware of multiple injuries associated with this storm S of Red Deer's Gasoline Alley, and hope for a speedy recovery for those hurt in this event. Please send or forward any reports of damage you may encounter, as well as any video or imagery of the hailstorm itself. 2/2

032

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Another milestone for the Northern Tornadoes Project! During the 2026 season, we had our first first all-women damage survey teams since the start of the NTP in 2017. Details at the NTP blog: www.uwo.ca/ntp/blog/202...

uwo.ca

Another NTP milestone - our first all-women damage survey teams

Another NTP milestone - we had our first first all-women damage survey teams during the 2026 season

1193

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Dave Sills 🍁🌪️🎶⚓☮️ @davesills.ca · 11/08/2026

And there it is - didn't take long. The very first Environment Canada Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued using the new targetted polygon system. Shown using the @instantweather.bsky.social IW Pro radar viewer. History is made! #blueksywx

2215

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Are tornadoes in Canada changing? The @westernuntp.bsky.social team at @westernu.ca has been tracking an eastward shift in Canada’s tornadoes, into more populated areas. @ainsliecruickshank.bsky.social's longread on the Northern Tornadoes Project: www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...

begiant.ca

Finding Canada’s secret tornadoes

How keeping better tabs on twisters could mean more accurate warnings. Plus, the $1 device that could keep homes safe

076

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

The Northern Tornadoes Project has passed a major milestone! The NTP launched in 2017, and over 10 seasons of investigations we have passed the 1,000 tornadoes confirmed mark (see map below). Many thanks to all of the staff, grad students, interns, partners, collaborators and public contributors!

Map of all 1049 Canadian tornadoes confirmed since the launch of the Northern Tornadoes Project in 2017

0143

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Hail Project @westernunhp.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

**Important Announcement** This Thursday, July 16th, the Northern Hail Project (NHP), along with members of the City of Calgary led Hail Resilience Improvement Network (HRIN), will be running a special series of exhibits and demonstrations on all things #hail at the TELUS Spark Science Centre! 1/3

Three photo banner showing (left) gloved hands holding several real hailstones collected by the NHP field team, (center) two storm pursuit vehicles - white and green Ford Explorers, both with Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory Northern Hail Project decals - with Field Coordinator and intern standing in between the vehicles, (right) NHP intern explaining hail science to a young family.

152

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Hail Project @westernunhp.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

NHP Field Operations - Mission Today - July 16, 2026 NHP Field Teams have deployed to areas E of Calgary today (June 16) in anticipation of the potential for damaging, wind-driven hail. #abstorm If it is safe to do so, please send us any damage/hail reports you may encounter from today's storms!

072

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 06/06/2026

CSSL group outing to see the Blue Jays beat the Orioles in Toronto today. Dome’s open, sun’s hot, let’s go!! #FieldOfDreams

073

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 17/05/2026

A team-building board game competition and dinner at a local BBQ joint to end the second week of Canadian Severe Storms Lab training. The number of interns continues to grow each year. They’ll be busy very soon!

070

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

First NTP damage survey of the year, and first in-field media interview of the year. The NTP's damage survey lead, Aaron Jaffe, always does a great job. Results from the damage survey coming later today. #ONstorm www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxSQ...

youtube.com

Extensive damage after storm hits north of London

YouTube video by CTV News

073

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

It's Emergency Preparedness Week, and your help is needed on a related letter-writing campaign. ECCC has decided to shut down its long-standing radar research program. This affects severe weather warnings, and the work of the NTP and its partners. Details here: actionnetwork.org/letters/reve...

actionnetwork.org

Reverse the Loss of ECCC Severe Weather Radar Science

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) recently disbanded its High Impact Weather Research section that included radar research. The radar research group was tasked with ensuring that our new $1...

22828

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Hail Project @westernunhp.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Julia is the *first* in a line of NHP graduate students joining the ranks of Canada's next generation of severe weather scientists. We wish Julia all the very the best and look forward to her continued and future contributions to hail science! @cssl.ca 2/2

063

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Hail Project @westernunhp.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

**Important Announcement!** Today, we congratulate NHP graduate student Julia Finlayson on the successful defense of her master's thesis, entitled "Development of a Low-Cost, Novel Piezoresistive Polymer Hail Sensor" under the supervision of Drs. Gregory Kopp and Julian Brimelow. 1/2

Julia standing proudly in front of opening slide of her master's thesis defense presentation with supervisors Dr. Greg Kopp and Dr. Julian Brimelow.

172

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Connell Miller @connellmiller.ca · 09/04/2026

I'm excited to share that my latest paper focused on the internship program at @cssl.ca is now available as an early online release in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society! doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...

181

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Mesonet Project @westernunmp.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Big update 🚀 We’ve launched the Pro Version of the Canadian Mesonet Portal, along with major improvements across all versions of the platform! Pro Version features will continue rolling out gradually throughout the month, so keep an eye out! Details: www.uwo.ca/nmp/news/202...

uwo.ca

Canadian Mesonet Portal Update (v2026.04.05): Pro Version & More!

This release introduces the Pro Version of the Canadian Mesonet Portal, a major expansion of the platform focused on deeper data access, and advanced analysis tools. Alongside the Pro Version, we’ve d...

0126

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

The Weather Network @weathernetwork.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

An unusually active and destructive start to the tornado season in the northern U.S. has many Canadians wondering what's in store north of the border. Watch more video: ow.ly/XrYc50YzWMC

1269

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Hail Project @westernunhp.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

*Survey Announcement* Due to the rare nature of last week's hail event, researchers from the NHP & NTP will be conducting a damage survey tomorrow (March 21) of the region S and SW of Hopeville. Please let us know if you have any damage reports or other info! #onstorm @westernuntp.bsky.social

072

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 09/03/2026

The first CSSL Annual Report - covering the CSSL's inaugural full year in 2025 - is now available! Please visit uwo.ca/cssl/news.html to download a copy.

083

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Mesonet Project @westernunmp.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

The Northern Mesonet Project at the Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory (@cssl.ca) is looking for a Research Software Engineer to join our team! Please feel free to share with anyone who may be interested! You can find the details of the position (ID# 41923) here: www.uwo.ca/hr/working/s...

uwo.ca

Western University

Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

043

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Dave Sills 🍁🌪️🎶⚓☮️ @davesills.ca · 08/02/2026

The CSSL is supporting another storm-themed artistic experience, this time an exhibit at Western's McIntosh Gallery called 'Atmospheric Shifts'. Details and artist bios: mcintoshgallery.ca/exhibitions/... Below are some photos from my recent visit. I'm happy to have 2 of my own tornado prints up!

0102

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 23/01/2026

Last call! Internship applications close on Monday at 11:59PM ET

041

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 14/01/2026

Heads up - the first info session for the CSSL Summer Internship Program is tonight! Find the details here: uwo.ca/cssl/interns...

052

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 01/12/2025

Dive into real-world research and fieldwork with the CSSL Summer Internship Program! Learn more and apply here: uwo.ca/cssl/interns... Don't miss your chance to gain hands-on experience with leading tornado and hail experts in the field. Applications close on January 26th.

0115

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Connell Miller @connellmiller.ca · 26/11/2025

"Synthetic Aperture Radar as a Tool for Tornado Classification in Forested Areas" demonstrates how SAR can reveal tornado damage signatures in strong tornadoes, offering a way to provide EF-scale ratings in heavily forested regions where optical imagery struggles (doi.org/10.1080/0703...).

182

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Connell Miller @connellmiller.ca · 26/11/2025

These papers highlight complementary remote sensing approaches that can help improve spatial coverage and consistency of tornado intensity assessments. Grateful for @cssl.ca team who made these studies possible!

082

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Connell Miller @connellmiller.ca · 26/11/2025

"Evaluating the Utility of NDVI as a Damage Indicator for Crops in the Enhanced Fujita Scale" tests how NDVI changes can be used to identify crop damage from tornadoes, describes limitations, and shows how NDVI can supplement ground surveys in agricultural areas (doi.org/10.1175/JAMC...).

182

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Connell Miller @connellmiller.ca · 26/11/2025

I'm happy to share two @cssl.ca open-access remote sensing papers that are both related to alternative methods of classifying tornado damage! 🧵:

1115

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

The CSSL/NTP assisted the US National Weather Service (NWS) with their upgrading of the official rating of the June 2025 Enderlin, ND tornado from EF3 to EF5. Announced by the NWS today, it’s the first EF5-rated tornado in the US since 2013. Details here: uwo.ca/ntp/blog/202... Image B. Emfinger

Drone photo courtesy Brian Emfinger and used with permission.

35124

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Connell Miller @connellmiller.ca · 06/10/2025

Excited to announce that my method for estimating wind speeds based on lofted debris in tornadoes was used as contextual evidence for upgrading the Enderlin, ND tornado to an EF5! doi.org/10.1175/MWR-... #NDwx #Enderlin #EF5 #Tornado

28120

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 16/09/2025

Two new open access journal papers today from CSSL researchers! Stochastic Modeling of Radar-derived Maximum Estimated Size of Hail for Scenario-based Hail Loss Estimation doi.org/10.1016/j.ij... Multi-Level In-Situ Measurements During a Direct Hit by a Significant Tornado doi.org/10.1080/0705...

0123

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Hail Project @westernunhp.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

**Damage Survey Announcement: Following an extreme rainfall event and resulting flash flooding across SE Manitoba on Sept 11 & 12, a CSSL damage survey team will be conducting an assessment of the event's impacts. Please let us know if you have any rainfall and/or damage reports! #mbstorm @cssl.ca

043

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

The NTP has confirmed that a downburst (paired with large hail) caused high-end EF1 damage in the Brooks, AB area on August 20. Details at the NTP blog here: uwo.ca/ntp/blog/202... Note that ongoing analysis may result in additional events and/or a rating upgrade. #ABstorm #SKstorm

073

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

The NTP has confirmed two EF1 downbursts (one being a microburst), an EF0 tornado and a gustnado from the SK storms of Aug 20 near Saskatoon. The assessments are based on witness reports, an NTP damage survey, and radar/satellite imagery analysis. Details here: uwo.ca/ntp/blog/202... #SKstorm

082

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Dave Sills 🍁🌪️🎶⚓☮️ @davesills.ca · 22/08/2025

New Paper Alert! "Analysis of Forest-Based Tornadoes Using Treefall Patterns" in Monthly Weather Review, authored by our team at @cssl.ca and led by PhD candidate Daniel Butt. Based on this and other techniques, we may be able to re-rate some Canadian tornadoes. journals.ametsoc.org/view/journal...

083

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 21/08/2025

UPDATE: Two NTP teams will investigate wind damage, one in SE AB and one in central SK. The NHP will also have a team investigating hail damage in the Cassils / Brooks, AB area. Please send significant damage reports to @ntp-reports.bsky.social and @nhp-reports.bsky.social. #ABstorm #SKstorm

082

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

There are numerous reports of significant wind damage in southeastern Alberta from intense storms earlier today. Hail damage has also been reported. An NTP survey team will leave tomorrow for the area to thoroughly assess the damage. Please send damage reports to @ntp-reports.bsky.social. #ABstorm

073

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 20/08/2025

The Canadian Severe Storms Lab is excited to be a sponsor of the 41st AMS International Conference on Radar Meteorology in Toronto next week. Welcome to all those travelling from afar! And it looks to be a stellar program - have a look here: www.ametsoc.org/ams/meetings... #AMS41Radar

ametsoc.org

41st International Conference on Radar Meteorology

The 41st International Conference on Radar Meteorology is organized by the AMS Radar Meteorology and hosted by the American Meteorological Society.

040

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Western University @westernu.ca · 11/08/2025

“Scientists-turned-storm chasers” are tracking down Alberta hail storms to better understand how to protect against them. Researchers from the Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory ( @cssl.ca ) at #WesternU spoke with the @theglobeandmail.com about the Northern Hail Project.

buff.ly

In Alberta’s ‘Hailstorm Alley,’ scientists-turned-storm-chasers look into the eye of the storm for answers

Researchers from Western University aim to use data from hard-hit areas to help Canada better understand – and protect against – dangerous and costly hail damage

094

Canadian Severe Storms Lab @cssl.ca · 07/08/2025

Follow the link below to a new article on the detection and prediction of 'extreme' thunderstorms by Drs. Sills and Kopp of the Canadian Severe Storm Laboratory. Published in The Conversation (Canada). Let us know what you think! theconversation.com/its-challeng...

theconversation.com

It’s challenging to predict extreme thunderstorms — improving this will help reduce their deadly and costly impacts

Current models for weather forecasting tend to ignore outlier data; learning how to incorporate these can help reduce risk and increase community resiliency.

0105

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

TELUS Spark Science Centre @telus-spark.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Spark had the best rainy day with the Canadian Severe Storm Lab. Guests got to learn how the Northern Hail Project team tracks down the perfect #storm and the tools used to get hail data! They also showed off their storm-chasing vehicles and surveillance drones. ⛈️ Thanks for coming @cssl.ca!

042

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

AMS41Radar 2025 Toronto @ams41radar.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

Come here…to Toronto! Registration is now open for the @ametsoc.org @ametsoc-radar.bsky.social 41st International Conference on Radar Meteorology! www.ametsoc.org/ams/meetings...

media.tenor.com

a bald man with a ring on his finger is pointing at the camera

ALT: a bald man with a ring on his finger is pointing at the camera

096

Reposted by Canadian Severe Storms Lab

Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 @westernuntp.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

After extensive analysis, the NTP is able to provide documentation for the 10 tornadoes that occurred as part of an outbreak in southern SK on June 19th. The outbreak included 2 EF2 and three EF1 tornadoes. Full details at www.uwo.ca/ntp/blog/202... #SKstorm

1148