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One woman said she saw terrified elderly women flee their home when at least one tornado damaged several homes and destroyed one near Sundre on Thursday.
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The storm hit the area about 130 km northwest of Calgary around 3 p.m., leaving a trail of destruction but causing only one minor injury: debris striking one person in the hand, said RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney.
“It was just a scratch, but five houses had significant damage and one of those five was totally flattened,” Slaney said.
“One of our members who was there said it was like a war zone.”
By 9 pm Thursday, debris had been cleared from roads and crews were working to restore power to nearby homes and businesses after transmission lines were damaged, he said.
Environment and Climate Change Canada said at least one tornado has touched down, but they are still trying to gauge its strength through damage assessments.
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Images taken of the area after the storm passed showed damaged outbuildings, shattered vegetation, and downed power lines.
Saskatchewan storm chaser Jenny Hagan said she noticed the activity when she was east of Sundre and headed west.
“Shortly after, it started to spin hard,” Hagan said.
The woman said she was 100 meters from what appeared to be a tornado when she saw two older women, one in her 60s and her mother possibly in her 90s, running away from the chaos.
“They grabbed their dog and ran off the farm and they saw this tornado go by in front of their house,” Hagan said.
“A second funnel also went down to the east of there; I don’t think it hit the ground, but it was close to the ground.”
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At the time, Hagan said she felt safe because she could see where the storm was headed, adding that she has been watching such storms for 12 years.
But at other times, when it hit buildings in the area, its funnels were covered by rain, making them less visible and more unpredictable, he said.
“When it’s engulfed in rain, you have to back off because you never know what might be behind it,” Hagan said.
The same weather system hit parts of Calgary with heavy rain and marble-sized hail Thursday afternoon, submerging some low-lying streets.
Potential tornado activity appeared to be approaching Calgary, said Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
“It was spinning, it was pretty risky when it got close to the city, it looked like it wanted to (bring tornadoes) but it didn’t,” he said.
The weather system then moved east to the city of Oyen, 200 miles northeast of Calgary, where golf-ball-sized hail hit structures, Lang said.
The federal agency issued a severe storm watch Friday morning for areas north and northwest of Calgary from Sundre east to Olds-Didsbury and south to the Cochrane area.
“It was a crazy night of weather, but typical for Alberta this time of year,” Lang said.
“People in Stampede (Friday night) should be prepared for inclement weather: there is a risk of large hail and heavy rain.”
Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn