Tornado touches down in central Alberta bringing golf ball-size hail

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At least one tornado, and potentially a second, touched down after an evening thunderstorm shook much of central Alberta on Monday bringing golf ball-size hail along with it.

At around 9: 30 p.m., Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said a tornado was observed near the Yello-Weber County village of Zimbild-Weirwood, about 120 kilometers west of Edmonton.

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There have been no reports of any damage and the tornado assessment remains under investigation.

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An early Monday tornado is also being investigated, just after 6 p.m. near Cynthia, roughly 166 kilometers southwest of Edmonton near Drayton Valley. In that case, a funnel cloud was reported along with a thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado, the ECCC said.

“We definitely know of a funnel cloud near the Cynthia area, but we haven’t confirmed it’s a tornado yet,” said ECCC Meteorologist Samantha Mauti.

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The storms brought with them significant hail with a maximum confirmed measurement of 8.7 cm taken.

“Multiple reports of golf ball up to nearly baseball-size hail were reported in several severe storms east of Edson,” Environment Canada said in a Tuesday morning update. Edson is about 205 km west of Edmonton.

Environment Canada meteorologists are looking for photos of the tornado and / or any damage they may have caused. People can report any information they have by calling 1-800-239-0484, sending email [email protected] or by posting on Twitter using the hashtag #abstorm.

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This is the 15th tornado of the Year in Alberta. The province typically sees anywhere between 10-12 tornadoes a year, Mauti said, adding that only 10 tornadoes were confirmed in southern Alberta on June 14.

Earlier this month, a huge tornado destroyed part of central Alberta’s farmland and was named by researchers as the most powerful tornado to hit the province in nearly four decades. The E4 tflix passed 15 kilometres between the towns of Didsbury and Carstairs in Mountain Viepora County damaging 12 homes, three of which were destroyed.

In 1987, the famous Black Friday tornado devastated the Edmonton area, killing 27 people and causing $ 647 million in damage. Black Friday was followed more than a decade later by a deadly July 14, 2000 tornado in Pine Lake, roughly 192 kilometers south of Edmonton, in which 12 people were killed.

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