Thunderstorms with up to teacup-sized hail and tornadoes a threat for Alberta today

Jul 24 2024, 4:05 pm

Today is shaping up to potentially be an active weather day for a large chunk of Alberta, including Edmonton, with a high risk of thunderstorms in the forecast.

According to the thunderstorm outlook from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), today runs a high risk for thunderstorms that could drop up to teacup-sized hailstones, 110 to 120 kilometre-an-hour winds, 50 millimetres of rain, and the risk of tornadoes.

Edmonton is included in the moderate risk zone for thunderstorms that could drop up to egg-sized hailstones, 100 kilometre-an-hour winds, and 30 to 50 millimetres of rain.

The ECCC said in its outlook that the “overall environment looks prime for supercells, with all severe hazards possible, including tornadoes and very large hail.”

The high-risk zone for these thunderstorms is smack dab in central Alberta, including Red Deer and nearly stretching to the Saskatchewan border.

Environment and Climate Change Canada

“The main caveat involved thick wildfire smoke which continues to plague the province. Should fires over the Rocky Mountains become active this afternoon, large plumes of smoke may inhibit convection until very late in the day,” the outlook added.

Should that occur, the tornado risk may be snuffed out for the province and although long-tracked severe thunderstorms will likely continue well into the night, the main area of concern will be more of a wind threat.

If you are all-in for the weather in Alberta, we chatted with an ECCC meteorologist to see how the fall forecast for the province is shaking out.

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Laine MitchellLaine Mitchell

Laine Mitchell is the Alberta Editor based in Edmonton. He grew up in a small town west of the capital region, where he also landed his first job as a reporter at a radio station. After that, he moved on to CTV News Edmonton in 2018, before joining Daily Hive in 2021. In his downtime he can be found running in the river valley, grabbing coffee with friends, jetting off to enjoy the mountains, or listening to Taylor Swift. Laine also enjoys spending hours discussing pop culture, current events, and everything in between.


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