Calgary cleans up after thunderstorm rips through southern Alberta
Storm brought wind gusts up to 90 km/h, downed trees, knocked out power in some areas
Calgarians will be cleaning up Friday after a powerful thunderstorm rolled through southern Alberta Thursday, bringing thunder, lightning, and wind gusts upwards of 90 kilometres per hour that toppled trees and knocked out power to thousands of homes.
The thunderstorm hit Calgary at 7:30 p.m., bringing downtrees all over the city, some of which knocked down power lines.
About 2,400 houses lost power in several neighbourhoods, includingPump Hill,Palliser, andOakridge, Tuscany,HawkwoodandEdgemont.
Enmaxhad extra staff on the groundto handle any issues during the storm. The power companysaid all of the affected homes had electricityrestored by Friday morning.
Environment Canada issued severe thunderstorm watches for much of southern Alberta, including Calgary. It also issuedatornado watch forBrooks,Strathmoreand Vulcan, which was lifted at about 9:30 p.m.
The agency said the low pressure system arrivedfrom the Pacific Northwest and was expected to cause severe thunderstorms in the Foothills, capable of producing damaging wind gusts and large hail.
Tree down in oakridge from the storm. #yyc #abstorm #Calgary @Crackmacs @GlobalCalgary @ENMAX pic.twitter.com/vcxvrU7664
—@Holden6306
Holy bloody storm from hell just going by, it ripped the cover of my smoker in half . #abstorm #yyc pic.twitter.com/2FKIZcy489
—@damier247
Time lapse of storm clouds moving across Calgary. #abstorm pic.twitter.com/sgAfCj7kMH
—@stevetsuida
Got a lil breezy and misty here tonight... @CBCCalgary #abstorm pic.twitter.com/eqERVamxIc
—@mslater30