Today is shaping up to be an active weather day in the province, with the chance of a tornado developing in central Alberta.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Thunderstorm Outlook Potential says severe weather will be possible over central Alberta, with a chance of “a few discrete supercells with large hail possible in area east of Edmonton.”
There is also an “outside chance of a tornado risk as well,” per the ECCC, due to “a dryline beginning to redevelop over southern Alberta and push towards the northeast.”
Other risk factors for this afternoon include up to 110-kilometre-an-hour winds, lightning, and heavy rain.
The ECCC added that smoke over eastern parts of the province may affect how things shape up this afternoon, and watches will be issued in advance if conditions “continue to look favourable for severe storms.”
Edmonton and the surrounding area is currently under a severe thunderstorm watch due to thunderstorms that have developed in the Rocky Mountain foothills today and will intensify as they move east this afternoon.