Edmonton faces rare thunderstorm with 129 km/h gusts—the second strongest on record. Damage reported across city, but no injuries confirmed.
A fast-moving thunderstorm struck the Edmonton region Thursday evening, unleashing devastating winds that clocked in at a staggering 129 km/h—the second-strongest ever recorded in the city. This sudden outburst of extreme weather prompted an emergency alert and left damage in its wake across several neighborhoods.
“We’re expecting wind gusts of, generally speaking, 90 km/h, maybe 100 km/h out of those thunderstorms,” said Alysa Pederson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
According to ECCC, the powerful storm system was triggered by a combination of a low-pressure system and an advancing cold front—an aggressive setup even by Alberta’s standards during summer storm season.
Emergency Measures at Edmonton International Airport
The storm hit Edmonton International Airport at approximately 7:15 p.m. MT, damaging several buildings and shattering vehicle windows in airport lots. Despite the ferocity of the winds, airport authorities managed to avert injuries through swift action.
“It was a quick one. It came through here in about four minutes from start to finish,” said Erin Isfeld, the airport’s manager of corporate communications.
“We really came through this pretty much unscathed… What we’re really happy about is that no one was injured,” she added.
Four flights were rerouted to Calgary, and a short ground delay was implemented. The airport resumed operations within an hour.
“We haven’t seen winds here at Edmonton International like that for the last 60 years,” Isfeld said. “So it’s a very rare event to happen here.”
Historic Gusts: Strongest in Nearly 60 Years
The last time Edmonton faced stronger winds was on October 1, 1965, when gusts reached 146 km/h, Pederson confirmed.
This week’s storm caused widespread damage across the city and surrounding communities. Trees were torn from the ground, homes and vehicles were damaged by flying debris, and power outages left residents temporarily in the dark.
Clean-Up Underway as Crews Respond to Mayhem
Tree removal services were quickly overwhelmed.
“We are struggling to keep up and we have a very specialized team and system to deal with this,” said Kolton Canning, owner of Trusty Tree Services.
Canning’s team has been clearing massive fallen trees—including a towering 21-metre pine that crashed onto a home. Hard-hit areas include Brookside, Sherwood Park, and Fort Saskatchewan.
Utility provider Epcor reported four power outages, impacting 37 customers, but full service was restored by night’s end.
“While our electrical system is designed to handle a wide variety of conditions, outages do occur for a variety of reasons, including high winds and storms,” Epcor said.
Residents are being cautioned to avoid any downed power lines or branches tangled with electrical wires.
“We will send a crew with proper safety equipment to remove the object and repair any damage,” the company assured.
Climate Change Could Be Fueling More Extreme Storms
As Alberta continues to see shifting weather patterns, experts are drawing attention to broader environmental implications.
“We are seeing impacts of climate change across Alberta, across western North America. The further north you are, the greater that change is,” said Pederson.
“Warmer air means it can hold more moisture, which leads to its ability to have bigger thunderstorms and bigger extremes for severe weather.”
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