‘It was pretty cool:’ Witness describes Fishing Lake tornado

The wind came up and the clouds circled over Fishing Lake Friday evening, commencing the second act of what some are calling the storm of the summer.

It was quite the show for many — including Pam Kresowaty, who has a cabin along Chorney Beach, where Environment Canada has confirmed one of four tornadoes touched down.

As soon as the weather turned severe around 4 p.m., Kresowaty and her family headed in the opposite direction, south on Highway 310.

“The funnel cloud would go up and down, and up and down — finally we said, ‘We just have to leave,'” she explained. “We started driving away from the lake, and that’s when the tornado touched down.”

Kresowaty has been going to the lake all her life. Over her 36 years, funnel clouds have come and gone, but this was the first time one has ever met the ground. She said it still doesn’t feel real.

“You see them on the Tornado Hunters page or you see them on T.V. — you just never think you’re actually going to see it,” she said. “It was pretty cool.”

As of Saturday morning, neither Kresowaty nor Environment Canada has heard of any damage in the area.

Chorney Beach is located approximately 111 kilometres west of Yorkton.