UPDATED: Severe thunderstorm watches end

All severe weather warnings across the province have been dropped as of 11 p.m. Thursday night.

Environment Canada originally issued severe thunderstorm watches and warnings for parts of central and northern Alberta Thursday afternoon. It said conditions were favourable for the development of dangerous thunderstorms into Thursday evening.

Edmonton was downgraded from a warning, to a severe thunderstorm watch as of 6:20 p.m.

Thunderstorms were expected to develop along a cold front Thursday afternoon and persist into the evening hours, Environment Canada said on its website.

“Thunderstorms developing this afternoon have the potential to become severe,” Global Edmonton meteorologist Jesse Beyer said, adding the main threats will be damaging wind gusts, hail and heavy rain.

“The thundershowers will be quite isolated. Singular cells will be moving mostly eastward across the region,” he said. “Within thundershowers there will be heavy rain shafts and hail cores. Some hail may be large enough to cause damage.

“Wind gusts on the leading edge of some storms could peak up to 90 km/h.”

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For a full list of watches and warnings, visit Environment Canada’s website.

Severe thunderstorm watches are issued when conditions are favourable for the development of large hail, damaging winds and torrential rainfall. Severe thunderstorm warnings are issued when imminent or occurring thunderstorms are likely to produce large hail, damaging winds and torrential rainfall.

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