Environment Canada confirms tornado in Brazeau County, southwest of Edmonton

Environment Canada is confirming a “significant” tornado did indeed touch down in a rural area southwest of Edmonton on Wednesday.

The tornado formed near Cynthia and Lodgepole in Brazeau County, about 170 kilometres from Alberta’s capital, meteorologist Brian Proctor told CityNews.

Proctor says the conditions were “perfect” for tornado activity.

“We had a digging trough off the west coast of British Columbia, pushed a jet across the area, and we had a very unstable and very warm air mass,” he said.

“We saw this really good rotation on radar. And also, there was a number of storm chasers that were out in the area that were posting things that they saw. It was very significant.

“We did have a very good idea that that area was going to be particularly interesting even the day before.”

The meteorologist says while it’s too early to know for sure, it appeared to be one parent storm with either multiple touchdowns at the same funnel, or multiple funnels.

“We’re not certain about that yet, but definitely it was one parent storm, and it was a very significant, severe windstorm,” Proctor explained.

A team from the Northern Tornadoes Project at the University of Western Ontario was headed to the Lodgepole area Thursday to conduct a storm damage survey.

The damage is expected to be mostly to trees, as Proctor does not believe any structures were hit given the very rural nature of the area where the tornado touched down.

Because of that, Proctor believes the tornado will be categorized as “weak” on the rating scale – F1 or even F0 – since “ratings for tornadoes are really based upon damage.”

“We saw some swirl marks in some of the farmers fields where it definitely passed across,” he said.

A tornado warning was issued at 5:15 p.m. and later downgraded to a tornado watch.

Proctor says the watch and warning system worked as it’s intended. “I think people got the message,” he said.

The Environment Canada meteorologist says Wednesday’s tornado is a good example of why Albertans should always be “weather aware.”

“It’s not atypical for us to see tornadic activity in the months in the June, July, August,” he said. “And it definitely occurred at this point in time. So we do have get those kinds of storms. We often see big winds and more often see big hail events.

“In general terms, we do experience summer severe 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.”