EDMONTON – Hurricane-force wind gusts as high as 120 kilometres an hour hit the Capital Region on Wednesday.
“It’s interesting to the note that the wind speeds at the City Centre for the Edmonton Tornado of 1987 were 37 km/hr, so this has been quite a storm,” said Global Edmonton‘s chief meteorologist, Nicola Crosbie. “Of course, we have take into account the track of the tornado.
“I think it’s fair to say that we have experienced Category One Hurricane speed winds today. At least with respect to gusts.”
Watch above to hear more from Crosbie on the Alberta winds, and how they compared with past records set.
The gusts easily overpowered little Maddox, a three-and-a-half pound Yorkie, who was picked up and thrown against a fence during the wicked weather Wednesday morning.
Watch above: Laurel Gregory has more on the impact of the wind and what area was hit hardest, according to Environment Canada.
Morning commuters were also affected after LRT service was suspended between the South Campus and Century Park LRT stations.
Patricia Dickson with Edmonton Transit Services told Global News the decision was made to replace trains with buses because the powerful gusts of wind were pushing crossing arms into the LRT’s path.
The service resumed at 3 p.m., in time for the afternoon commute, with trains having to travel a little slower than usual.
There were also reports of malfunctioning traffic lights Wednesday morning, which the City was asking motorists to report – along with damage to street lights – to EPCOR (at 780-412-4500).
Edmontonians were being asked to call 311 if they saw any dangerous debris on the road.
Insurance companies, meanwhile, were likely getting plenty calls of calls about property damage. But that’s not all the high winds were responsible for.
EPCOR’s Tim LeRiche told Global News the winds caused three outages in Edmonton Wednesday morning. By early afternoon, Leriche said EPCOR had caught up on most, if not all, power outages.
Outside Edmonton, a widespread power outage prompted an emergency advisory to be issued for a portion of northwestern Alberta.
Environment Canada issued a wind warning for a vast stretch of central and northern Alberta, with gusts reaching 100 kilometres or much higher for some areas.
On Highway 44, those high winds proved to be deadly. RCMP say a motorist who was checking his vehicle, which had become stuck after being blown into a ditch, was fatally hit by a second vehicle that was also forced off the road by the wind.
READ MORE: One person killed in central Alberta accident attributed to wind gusts
RCMP believe strong crosswinds and blowing snow were also factors in a fatal collision north of Maskwacis (formerly Hobbema).
On the QEII, RCMP say a semi rolled because of the powerful winds.
Southbound lanes by the Millet overpass were shut down for several hours before being re-opened late Wednesday morning.
No one was injured in that crash.
RCMP were warning drivers to use extreme caution while travelling on the highways due to the heavy winds.
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