This Day in Weather History - August 27

 August 27, 1884, Vicious Thunderstorms Leave Swath of Damage Across Southern Manitoba

Severe thunderstorms developed in southern Manitoba in the afternoon of August 27, 1884, then plowed eastward in the late afternoon and evening, leaving widespread damage all the way to northwestern Ontario. Damaging winds were the main issue but there were reports of hail and torrential downpours as well. The strongest storms began around Brandon by about 4pm (although, it appears more storms also developed in other areas late afternoon), then raced eastward, reaching Winnipeg by around 6:30 pm and Vermillion Bay east of Kenora Ontario by about 10:40 pm. In Winnipeg, the storm lasted about two hours, but the strongest winds did not arrive until just before 8pm, possibly suggesting that there were some storms ahead of the main line of severe storms. It continued to rain until shortly before midnight, after which a heavy wind came from the south. 

Based on reports, the greatest damage occurred from Portage la Prairie to Winnipeg with several buildings damaged or destroyed. Just west of Winnipeg, around Headingley, almost every single building was damaged, some lifted off their foundations. Some roofs were blown off buildings. Telegraph wires were also damaged, cutting off communications until the following morning. Electric light wires were badly damaged, leaving parts of the city of Winnipeg in darkness. Surprisingly and luckily, little in the way of permanent damage was done to crops. 

Some hail damage occurred in some areas. In Gladstone, some windows were smashed by hail. 

The event was very well documented in newspapers and was reported to be the worst in years. There are too many reports to list here, so I have created a map where you can click on points and see the details. It also helps to visualize where the event occurred. The map can be viewed by following this link. 

From the Winnipeg Daily Sun, Aug 28, 1884, page 1

This post contains information from the Winnipeg Daily Sun, Winnipeg Free Press, the Gladstone Age and the Monthly Weather Review.