A “significant” tornado touched down in rural southwestern Alberta
Environment Canada has confirmed that a “significant” tornado touched down in a rural area southwest of Edmonton on Wednesday, July 2.
The tornado developed near Cynthia and Lodgepole in Brazeau County, roughly 170 kilometres from Alberta’s capital, according to meteorologist Brian Proctor.
Proctor explained that the atmospheric setup was ideal for tornadic development. “We had a digging trough off the west coast of British Columbia, which pushed a jet stream across the region, and we had a very unstable and warm air mass,” he said.
Radar imagery showed well-defined rotation, and storm chasers in the area were sharing visuals confirming what they witnessed. “It was very significant. We had a good sense even the day before that this area would be particularly active,” Proctor added.
One parent storm with multiple touchdowns possible
While it’s still early in the assessment, Proctor said the tornado appears to have been produced by a single parent storm, with either multiple touchdowns from the same funnel or separate funnels emerging in sequence.
“We’re not certain about that yet, but definitely it was one parent storm, and it was a very significant, severe windstorm,” he explained.
A team from the Northern Tornadoes Project at the University of Western Ontario travelled to the Lodgepole area on Thursday to assess the storm damage.
Limited damage due to rural location
Damage is expected to be mostly to trees, as the area affected is sparsely populated, and no buildings appear to have been hit. For that reason, Proctor anticipates the tornado will be classified as weak, likely an F0 or F1, since tornado ratings are determined based on the damage they cause.
“We saw some swirl marks in some of the farmers’ fields where it definitely passed across,” he said.
Timely warnings and system worked as designed
A tornado warning was issued at 5:15 p.m., then later downgraded to a tornado watch. According to Proctor, the alert system performed as expected. “I think people got the message,” he said.
The Environment Canada meteorologist emphasized that this tornado serves as a reminder that Albertans need to remain weather aware throughout the summer.
“It’s not atypical for us to see tornadic activity in the months of June, July, and August,” he said. “This kind of storm is not unusual. We often get strong winds, and even more frequently, large hail.”
“In general terms, we do experience severe summer weather in this province, and we need to be aware of it. Listen for updated watches and warnings if they’re out there, and plan your days accordingly.”
