Canada Day tornado was strongest in Alberta since Edmonton one in 1987

Crews have revealed that the destructive tornado that struck central Alberta on Canada Day was an EF4, making it the strongest tornado to touch down in Alberta since the 1987 Edmonton tornado.

The Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) made the announcement Tuesday morning, in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Alberta.

The weather experts have concluded that the worst damage from the Didsbury tornado on July 1 is rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, making it the highest-rated Alberta tornado since Edmonton in 1987, the tweet stated.

An NTP investigation, in collaboration with @ECCCWeatherAB, has concluded that the worst damage from the July 1st Didsbury tornado is rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, making it the highest-rated AB tornado since Edmonton in 1987.

Full details: https://t.co/bECmqDlS3F… pic.twitter.com/HGFkwjV1Vp

— Northern Tornadoes Project 🇨🇦 (@westernuNTP) July 4, 2023

The survey teams found that there was enough evidence to rate the tornado damage at EF4, with a maximum wind speed of 275 km/h. The preliminary path length is 15.3 km and the maximum path width at 620 metres.

Twelve residences were hit by the tornado with three being destroyed, four were left uninhabitable, and a further five were damaged.

In terms of nearby corroborating damage, various farm equipment was flipped and thrown. This includes a combine weighing almost 10,000 kg that was thrown at least 50 metres and then rolled for another 50-100 metres after that.

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“Wind tunnel studies of another combine that was hit by a previous Canadian tornado suggest a wind speed of 230 km/h for just flipping a combine,” the NTP added.

The Didsbury tornado is only the second tornado in Canada to have damage rated at EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale that was implemented in this country in 2013, with the other being the one in Alonsa, Manitoba, at EF4 that also had a maximum wind speed of 275 km/h.

Across the country, there have been only 21 “violent” tornadoes rated at EF4 or higher.