People in central Alberta experienced thunderstorms and other forms of severe weather Thursday afternoon and evening.
Areas west of Edmonton, including Edson, Mayerthorpe and Sangudo experienced dime- to golf ball-sized hail on Thursday evening as the storms rolled through.
“The storms starred in western Alberta and moved into central Alberta,” Global Edmonton meteorologist Tina Simpkin said Thursday night.
“Preliminary reports came in with pea- to golf ball-sized hail. High winds, lots of lightning and heavy rain is still being produced by these storms. As the storms move east, the environment is not as favourable an area to keep these storms going at the same strength.”
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The Edmonton area was hit by a lightning storm, which started shortly before 9 p.m.
Those at the K-Days midway were asked to seek shelter for a period of time Thursday night. The weather also delayed the July Talk concert and forced the cancellation of the nightly fireworks’ display. The fair grounds were closed at 11:30 p.m.
Several severe thunderstorm watches and warnings were issued for areas of central Alberta Thursday afternoon and evening.
For a complete list of areas under the watch and up-to-date information on weather conditions, visit Environment Canada’s website.
“We have the instability, the fuel and the upper-level wind to support severe thunderstorms today,” Global Edmonton meteorologist Jesse Beyer explained Thursday morning. “The last ingredient is the lift. The cold front sliding in will set things into motion this afternoon and evening.”
Beyer suggests people in affected regions should monitor all warnings and watches closely throughout the day.
Environment Canada explained thunderstorm watches are put in place when conditions are favourable for the development of dangerous thunderstorms that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts, damaging hail and heavy rain.
To report severe weather, send an email to ec.storm.ec@canada.ca or tweet reports using #ABStorm.
Want your weather on the go? Download the Global News Skytracker weather app for ISO and Android.
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