Strong wind gusts wreaked havoc in downtown Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon.
The wind was so strong it ripped the roof right off a semi-truck in the area of 101 Street and 103 Avenue.
Police and fire crews were on scene to help clean up the area and keep people safe. Fire crews used an axe to cut the roof off the truck; police then used their vehicles to hold the roof down on the street to keep it from flying away.
Wind gusts at the Blatchford station reached 56 km/h at 1 p.m.
“Localized gusts could have been higher, especially when you factor in the wind tunnel effect on downtown streets,” Global Edmonton meteorologist Jesse Beyer explained.
The cord of a traffic light in the area also snapped, causing the light to crash to the ground.
A wind warning remained in place for Edmonton and surrounding areas when the downtown incidents happened Wednesday afternoon. The warning was dropped for Edmonton shortly before 4 p.m.
READ MORE: Wind warning issued for most of central and southern Alberta
The wind was also causing problems in southern Alberta, where it was fuelling wildfires in the Cochrane and Municipal District of Ranchland 66 areas.
The wind is expected to die down late Wednesday afternoon.
READ MORE: Wildfire in southern Alberta could force evacuations
Last week, powerful wind gusts derailed trains and helped to spread several wildfires burning in Alberta.
For the latest information on weather warnings, visit Environment Canada’s website.
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