Lacombe County residents reported tennis ball-sized hail during Wednesday evening’s storm that prompted a tornado warning from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Originally, a watch was issued for much of Central Alberta at about 2:30 p.m., because atmospheric conditions area were favourable for the development of thunderstorms that could produce tornadoes.
Around 7:15 p.m., a tornado warning was issued for North Central and South Central Alberta, with "extra care and attention should be exercised in and around the following localities: Clive, Alix, Eckville and Lacombe."
Over the next hour, seven different tornado warnings were issued for areas around Central Alberta, several of which prompted emergency alerts to hit cell phones in the region.
“There were very good dynamics in the atmosphere to support supercell thunderstorms yesterday," said Brian Proctor, meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“We haven’t had any reports of anything touching down. But we did see significant rotation on radar.”
But tennis ball-sized hail was reported which could have caused a lot of damage to crops, he said.
"It was a very significant storm."
The storm tracked northeast from the City of Lacombe and lasted about an hour. About 6.4 mm of rain was reported in the city, with lesser amounts around the area.
At 7:32 p.m., Environment Canada said, "There are two thunderstorms that are possibly producing tornadoes. One is located 5 km east of the north end of Gull Lake, crossing Highway 792, just south of Crestomere. The other is about 5 km west of Bentley, very close to Highway 12."
At 7:46 p.m., Environment Canada provided another update on the movement of the two thunderstorms. "One thunderstorm is located 15 km west Morningside, travelling approximately along Highway 604. The other thunderstorm is just east of Bentley, travelling approximately along Highway 12. Baseball-sized hail or larger is also possible with both thunderstorms."
At 8:07 p.m., the final tornado warning read "The thunderstorm that is possibly producing a tornado is located just west of Lacombe, and is heading to the east at 30 km/h. Baseball-sized hail or larger is also possible."
Proctor said the region is now settling back into a cooler pattern.
"I think everyone at this point should probably enjoy the coolness compared to what we’ve been having.”
The forecast for Red Deer calls for highs of about 23 C on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with lows of about 10 C.
