More than half of Alberta was under some kind of weather alert Wednesday as a storm moved east across Alberta from B.C.
Global Edmonton’s chief meteorologist Jesse Beyer expected it would bring upwards of 25 mm of rain and wind gusts approaching 100 km/h to the Edmonton area.
“The rain totals will be varied across the area,” he said.
At 2:15 p.m., Beyer said rain totals for parts of southeast Edmonton had exceeded 30 mm. He said most areas were in the 25 to 30 mm range.
READ MORE: High stream flow advisories in place in Alberta amid wet weather
“With the developed low causing a significant pressure gradient across our area, wind is the major concern. Northwest wind speeds are possible in the 70 km/h range, with gusts peaking out at 90 to 100 km/h possibly,” Beyer said.
Downed trees and power outages
Several downed trees and power outages were reported in Edmonton Wednesday. Edmonton Fire Rescue said crews were fielding triple the amount of calls they usually do.
EPCOR is reminding people to stay away from downed power lines and report them to 412-4500.
- 16 Street to 30 Street and 51 Avenue to 77 Avenue
- 78 Street to 170 Street and 41 Avenue south to 8 Avenue
READ MORE: Thousands without power as rain, high winds sweep through Calgary
“We got calls, a considerable number of calls, about trees breaking, branches breaking and falling into power lines and multiples outages right across the city,” EPCOR spokesman Tim le Riche said. “At the height, there may have been 18,000 customers impacted — not all at once, but over the course of the afternoon.
“We have a number of crews, as many as available, are out there working right now. In addition to that, we have a number that are resting. We know we are going to be working through the evening. Once we reach the point where we realize those crews that are out in the field are starting to get tired, they come in and we send out a fresh batch.”
Le Riche said the southwest outage would be difficult to repair because the entire power cube had been burned and needed to be completely replaced.
On Wednesday, Fortis Alberta was already reporting a few outage areas, including in Sylvan Lake (near Red Deer), Brazeau County (near Drayton Valley) and Spruce Grove (just west of Edmonton).
The company tweeted it would have crews working round the clock but that the situation in some areas was challenging and some customers may be without power overnight.
“In times of major storm events like this, we’re able to quickly pull resources from other service points from across the province to join in the restoration efforts,” Cam Aplin, Fortis Alberta’s vice-president of operations, said in a statement Wednesday night. “So far, crews have done a great job of battling the elements, keeping themselves and the public safe and restoring power to as many customers as possible.”
Click here to view Fortis Alberta’s outage map.
Fortis Alberta said at the height of the storm, about 44,500 of its customers were without power. The company said as of 9:30 p.m., about 17,000 customers remained without power and about 10,000 were expected to remain in the dark overnight until crews can safely complete repairs to damaged lines.
It said all Fortis Alberta customers were expected to have service restored by 4 p.m. on Thursday.
As the cleanup after the storm began, the City of Edmonton warned residents they are not allowed to pick up wood from city trees because it may contain “diseases or bugs that are not visible.” It also said citizens are not allowed to transport, store or sell wood from elm trees without the city’s permission.
Travel and traffic
Due to power outages, RCMP said several traffic lights in Leduc and Strathcona County were out and flashing red. Officers reminded drivers to treat those intersections as four-way stops.
At around 3:30 p.m., Nav Canada issued a two-hour delay on most flights coming into Edmonton because of the weather conditions.
“We really need people who are scheduled to leave out of Alberta airports today to check directly with the airline to understand if their flight’s impacted,” Edmonton International Airport Traci Bednard said. “On the other hand, some flights are operating normally, just depending on the scheduled time of arrival or departure, so not all flights will be affected. So best to check specifically with your airline.”
She estimated about 20 flights were affected by the weather delays.
“Then at about 3:45 p.m., we started to see some aircraft from Alberta-destined airports divert to other airports but then it started to improve. We’re starting to see the weather improve again, so at about 4:15 p.m., we’re starting to see some operations, some flights getting in and out,” Bednard said.
The LRT was experiencing minor delays but operating as usual. The city said there were multiple reports of bus shelters being blown over or onto the street.
Firefighters said the roof at the Riverbend Athletic Club partially collapsed and people inside were forced out. No injuries were reported.
Fire crews were called to the facility at about 4 p.m. and were inside assessing the damage but they said it appeared to be extensive. The building needs to be checked for structural damage and fire officials said to expect the building to be shut down for some time.
All events scheduled for Wednesday evening at the facility have been cancelled.
Watch below: Kent Morrison reports on Wednesday’s storm in Edmonton from outside the Riverbend Athletic Club.
The city said Mill Creek was in poor condition Wednesday afternoon and the river valley trails have some flooding.
Fire Chief Ken Block said people should stay away from the river valley.
Edmonton Valley Zoo was closed Wednesday and some outdoor sports fields were also closed for the evening.
Residents are asked to call 311 to report fallen trees on city property, dislodged manhole covers, flooded roads or traffic light issues.
Watch below: Edmonton Fire Chief Ken Block spoke to Gord Steinke on Wednesday about the “hectic afternoon” caused by a significant storm.
Alberta Beach and Lac Ste. Anne
About 85 kilometres west of Edmonton, near Lac Ste. Anne, waters were rising and raging at Alberta Beach.
Jo-Anne and Roger Demers, who have lived in Alberta Beach for 10 years, said Wednesday the water is two feet higher this year than it was last year. They are amazed by the destruction to the docks and grass.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” Jo-Anne said. “It breaks your heart.”
“I’ve been here for five years,” Debbie Mudry said. “I’ve never seen the weather like this before.
“There’s a shed, these people were actually having to tie it down. It was a metal shed that was going to blow and it could have blown across and killed us.”
Jim Weishaar has also never seen Lac Ste. Anne like this.
“The neighbour’s shed blew over. The ditches are full of water all over the place. The lake is just like an ocean. It’s unbearable out here.”
Tracking the storm
Environment Canada issued a special weather statement Monday, warning of “an abrupt change in the weather.”
“It’s definitely a big, well-developed active weather system pushing across the province today,” said Kirk Torenby, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada. “There’s a whole mixed bag of things affecting the province… Everything from heavy rains that move through the Peace Country, to strong winds developing across western Alberta and southern Alberta… and some thunderstorms.”
READ MORE: ‘Storm surge phenomenon’: Assessing damage to central Okanagan
READ MORE: Strong winds across B.C. leave tens of thousands without power
In B.C., crews were still trying to restore power Wednesday morning to about 30,000 customers after the windstorm hit the province Tuesday night. A total of about 210,000 customers across B.C. experienced temporary outages as strong winds downed trees and power lines.
“The heaviest rain will extend from Hinton and Grande Prairie eastward to Edmonton, Cold Lake and Lloydminster,” Environment Canada said.
“Current indications are that rainfall amounts will be in the 30 to 40 mm range, but some areas of 50 to 75 mm are possible, especially with any thunderstorms embedded in the rain.”
By Wednesday evening, the rain is expected to have moved across the Alberta border and into Saskatchewan.
“It sounds like it’s mostly a ‘today’ kind of phenomenon,” Torenby said. “By tomorrow, the bulk of the system is starting to move into Saskatchewan.”
He said Alberta could still see some lingering precipitation and milder winds on Thursday.
“As the low tracks east-southeast, we’ll get out of the pressure gradient overnight,” Beyer said. “Wind speed should fall back to the 30 to 50km/h range Thursday morning.
“With the return of the sun and more stable conditions, we’ll finish the work week Friday with a high near 21 C, and should get above 25 C for most of the weekend.”
READ MORE: IN PHOTOS: Flood warning issued for area just north of Peace River
For a full list of areas in Alberta under a weather watch or warning, click here.
Want your weather on the go? Download the Global News Skytracker weather app for ISO and Android.
-With files from Phil Heidenreich.
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