OTTAWA — Environment Canada is launching a new, more targeted thunderstorm and tornado warning system. The department says the new system is meant to address “alert fatigue” and cut down on the number of weather alerts Canadians get on their phones. The new system will target alerts specifically to the area that forecasters think will be hit, rather than issue a broad warning across a large area. Forecasters will have the ability to draw a perimeter around the area they think is most likely to be affected and then push an alert to phones in that area. The changes, which took effect today, will only apply to severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. Other alerts like heat warnings and thunderstorm watches will still have broad alert areas. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2026 Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
