Vicious storm in central Alberta results in 2 tornadoes, sends 3 people to hospital

Officials to talk at 2:30 p.m. MT almost vicious force that ripped through and through east-central Alberta last night.

Three people have been taken to hospital and a cleanup effort is underway in east-central Alberta after a vicious storm tore through the area Wednesday night.

On Thursday afternoon, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) posted a weather summary on its website in which the agency confirmed two tornadoes touched down.

ECCC said "two separate tornadoes were observed over eastern Alberta between Edgerton through to Dillberry Provincial Park."

Emergency workers responded to Dillberry Lake Provincial Park, located about 290 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. RCMP said a tornado touched down in the area on Wednesday evening and forced a campground to be evacuated.

She confirmed some structures were damaged during the weather event.

"What that looks like, I don't know at this time," Geiger said.

On Thursday morning, Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project posted on social media that it had confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Alberta the night before: one southwest of Paradise Valley, which is located about 250 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, and another southeast of Chauvin, which is located about 265 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.

He said this year has been an unusually busy tornado season for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Across Canada, Sills said 57 tornadoes have been recorded — 46 of which touched down in the Prairies. 

“We haven’t seen that in a long time, maybe back to the 80’s,” Sills said. “It’s been that long since it's been that active so early in the season.

“Why that is, is another question.” 

He said connections between increased tornadoes and weather events like El Niño, or even climate change, can be hard to pinpoint. 

Sills said the danger is even greater in areas like provincial campgrounds with temporary or moveable structures. 

“The pictures I’m seeing coming out of the park are trailers destroyed — so even a trailer wasn’t a great shelter in this case,” he said.

ECCC is collaborating with the Northern Tornadoes Project as it continues to investigate.

Severe storm damages provincial park in east-central Alberta

The Municipal District of Wainwright posted on its Facebook page that "an event" had been reported in the area.

"We are asking the general public to avoid the area and allow emergency crews to respond to the event," the statement said.

In a news release issued Thursday, the M.D. Of Wainwright said RCMP are allowing registered campers to access the damaged campground to gather personal belongings. The municipality said not all sites are currently accessible, and trailers are not permitted to be removed yet.

A critical alert was issued by Environment Canada at 7:23 p.m. Residents were warned to take cover after meteorologists reported a tornado was forming near Paradise Valley, a village southwest of Lloydminster.

The storm later moved east into Saskatchewan and the warning in Alberta was lifted at 8:48 p.m.

Benjamin Hager said he was camping with his family in the park when the storm hit and that he  started noticing weird weather just moments before. 

“There was clear skies coming. We looked at the radar, the major stuff was all in the north, like over an hour north.” 

Hager said even when the funnel cloud was visible, he thought it was clear of the park. 

“Then it took a turn to the northeast and came right straight through the campground.” 

Hager said he and his family left once the weather turned but came back shortly after the storm passed through and the windows in his truck were smashed, his family’s camper was on its side and he saw fallen trees all around.

He said he and his family returned with saws and a tractor to help clear the trees from roads and debris to allow paramedics to access the site.

Laurie Penner, who lives in the village of Chauvin, about kilometres northwest of Dillberry Lake, said she watched the rotation of what she believed to be a tornado forming near her front deck.

"That was mesmerizing ... Almost hypnotic," she said. "Just even watching it form that way."

Penner noted the weather turned quickly after lightning struck close enough to her home to temporarily blind her and send her back inside her home.

"Then we did get the rain and we had probably quarter-sized hail — not for very long ... And then the wind came up. But it was very brief," she said.

"When things are rumbling, get to a safe place."

Sills warned that people should take tornado warnings seriously, and said severe storms can evolve quickly with little visible warning. 

“Its a common misconception that the funnel cloud has to touch the ground in order for a tornado to happen,” he said.

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