Tornado warnings and an emergency alert for Alberta were issued Friday night after a series of storms moved across northwestern Alberta after 9 p.m.
The initial alert was issued at 9:43 p.m., indicating that forecasters were tracking a rotating storm that could develop into a tornado, with the weather system moving from northwest of Fairview, Alta., southeast toward Tangent and Girouxville.
All alerts canceled by 11:54 p.m
Residents in Hines Creek reported damaged roofs, hail the size of ping-pong balls, flooded streets and uprooted trees.
A powerful storm system moved into northwestern Alberta Friday night causing extensive damage (Source: Sunflower & Swallow/Jennifer Shkolny). The major windstorm brought down power lines in the region, with ATCO Electricity saying most outages were expected to be restored by the end of Saturday. “ATCO crews are working safely and quickly to restore power,” the utility said in a social media statement. “Please stay away from downed power lines and structures.” The village of Hines Creek affected by outages and the area near ETR was updated at 5 p.m. of July 30, 2022. Stay away from downed power lines and structures and call the emergency shutdown line 1-800-668-5506. — ATCO Electricity (@ATCOElectric) July 30, 2022 ATCO crews are working to restore power Saturday morning in Hines Creek, Alta. (Source: Christ Tyler Maennchen). The Village of Hines Creek declared a local state of emergency as it dealt with the aftermath of Saturday’s storm. “The community suffered significant damage,” the statement said. “We are warning residents to avoid the cleanup until the risk assessment is complete. At this time, we are asking the public to refrain from driving in the community to allow crews to do their work.” Danielle Desjardins, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, confirmed to CTV News Edmonton on Saturday that the national weather service was investigating the severe weather event. Significant damage was reported in the village of Hines Creek, Alta., after a storm hit Friday afternoon (Source: Kevin Johnson). “We can’t confirm anything at this point,” Desjardins said, adding that it may have been a tornado, plow or straight-line winds that caused the widespread damage in the area. According to Desjardins, Friday’s high temperatures and humidity combined with a low pressure system moving through the region created unstable atmospheric conditions to produce strong storms. No evidence of a tornado has been submitted to the agency, Desjardins said, but investigators are continuing to look for photos and videos of the damage, in addition to historical radar and satellite images. Damage to a building in the Hines Creek area during a severe storm on Friday, July 29, 2022. (Source: Stephanie Kowal) Trees are uprooted during a storm in the Hines Creek area on Friday, July 29, 2022. (Source: Caitlin Malcolm) “There can be signatures and patterns in damage (that is) consistent with tornadoes,” he said. Environment Canada continues to investigate the weather event and is seeking photos and videos of the damage it caused. Anyone with information is asked to contact them at 1-800-239-0484 or email [email protected] Hines Creek is approximately 132 kilometers north of Grande Prairie or 565 kilometers northwest of Edmonton.
