A tornado that obliterated at least four homes in a small Manitoba town has been classified as an F4 -- one of the most violent twisters possible.

Environment Canada meteorologists believe the twister that hit Elie, a community west of Winnipeg, had wind speeds of up to 417 kilometres per hour.

On Saturday, a day after the tornado struck, the town's residents were amazed that no one was killed or injured.

Les Kauppila and his wife clung to a mattress in their basement, as the tornado ripped their home from the ground.

"The glass went, the dog was still sitting on my chest when it was over and everything was gone," said Kauppila, his voice wavering.

He said he could feel himself lifting off the floor twice during the storm. But although he lost his home, he said he still has much to be thankful for.

"We've been together 31 years," he told CTV Winnipeg as he kissed his wife. "Nothing can ever replace that."

Elie, a town of about 1,000 people, was one of three towns in the province to reportedly get hit by tornadoes Friday night.

Twisters are measured using a Fujita scale. It uses the amount of damage they cause to rate their severity, with F4 and F5 being the worst.

In addition to the destroyed homes in Elie, several houses were damaged, a few trucks were tossed into fields and powerful winds caused a transport truck to roll over into a ditch on the Trans Canada Highway.

Rescuers used search dogs to look for victims, but everyone was accounted for and there were no reports of injuries, according to reports.

Henry Hudek, a resident of Elie, said he was shocked no one was hurt. He told CTV Newsnet the tornado sounded like a train approaching the house.

"Elie is on the CN main line so we know what trains sound like. We're about 200 yards from the tracks and this one sounded like it was 10 yards from the house, and the trees were shaking. It was pretty exciting."

• Photo Gallery: Manitoba Tornado

He said he stood on the street watching the long white funnel-shaped tornado with many of his neighbours before ducking for cover in the basement when the tornado moved into the town."

The storm was fast and furious, and moved out of town as quickly as it arrived. Hudek was able to go out and inspect the damage Friday night.

"We were walking around town last night and the four houses that are gone, they're gone. It's totally flat and the bush, the trees that were all around them are broken off halfway up and stripped clean of branches."

Environment Canada said three reports of tornadoes came in Friday night; one in Elie, one west of Portage la Prairie, and another in the Carman area.

More inclement weather was predicted for Saturday night, with thunder storms expected to follow a daytime high of about 30 C.

Hudek said the Elie tornado will be especially memorable for one group.

"It was high school grad last night, so they had to push that back for about an hour. So the kids will have something to remember that occasion for them."

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer toured the town on Saturday and promised financial support.

With a report by CTV Winnipeg's Stacey Ashley and files from The Canadian Press