Severe thunderstorm warnings remain in effect for some regions in Alberta after intense hail and rainfall tore through Calgary and other parts of the province on Monday evening.
Environment Canada says meteorologists have been tracking a “very dangerous thunderstorm” capable of producing baseball-sized hail, strong wind gusts and heavy rain.
As of just after 9 p.m., the agency said the thunderstorm was located in Cheadle and Strathmore, Alta., and was heading to the east at 50 km/h.
An Alberta Emergency Alert was also originally issued at 7:57 p.m. on Monday, warning of torrential rain and baseball-sized hail for parts of southern Alberta.
An 8:58 p.m. update to the emergency alert noted that “extra care and attention” should be exercised. The emergency alert is in effect for the following areas:
- Foothills County near Blackie.
- Vulcan County near Arrowwood, Herronton and Queenstown.
- Vulcan County near Vulcan and Ensign.
“This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation,” reads Environment Canada’s website.
“Extremely large hail can smash windows, destroy property and vehicles and cause life-threatening injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees and overturn large vehicles.”
The agency advises people to seek shelter whenever there is dangerous weather.
‘Volatile atmosphere’
Heather Pimiskern, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, says the atmospheric conditions in the region were primed for storms to become severe.
“Across southern Alberta this evening, we have sort of this volatile atmosphere that we’re dealing with,” Pimiskern told CBC News during an interview on Monday night.
“The storms are currently positioned east of Calgary and they are continuing to migrate toward the east, so we anticipate later tonight they’ll reach the Saskatchewan border and push eastward from there.”
Calgary, originally part of the emergency alert, is now under a severe thunderstorm watch, according to Environment Canada’s website as of just after 11 p.m. on Monday.
Pimiskern says the largest hail size report the agency received from Calgary was roughly 4.5 centimetres in diameter, which is about the size of a golf ball.
Calgary airport sees damage from storm
In an email statement to CBC News sent Monday night, a spokesperson for the Calgary Airport Authority confirmed that the YYC Calgary International Airport domestic terminal building had been damaged by hail and heavy rainfall.
“We are prioritizing the safety of all guests and staff and clearing the impacted area. We are currently assessing the damage and its impact to operations,” reads the statement, adding that no injuries have been reported at this time.
The spokesperson also said that the airport is anticipating delays to inbound and outbound flights as a result of the damage, and travellers are advised to reach out to their airline to confirm the status of their flights.
‘Mother Nature comes calling’
During the storm, traveller Jodie Russett says she watched part of the airport’s ceiling fall off.
Russett, who was passing through Calgary from Toronto and heading to Kelowna, B.C., told CBC News she’d have to decide whether to stay overnight at the airport — waiting for her delayed flight to depart — or go stay at a hotel in Calgary until morning.
“What can we do? It’s nobody’s fault, right?”
Russett wasn’t alone. Traveller Emmanuel Ebere was also stuck at the Calgary airport on Monday evening.
“We don’t have any much information regarding when we’re going to be taking off, or if we’re ever going to be taking off tonight,” said Ebere.
“It’s nobody’s fault. Mother Nature comes calling and I guess we just have to adapt to the situation where we’re just going to stay calm … I guess we’ll just flow with the tide.”
