One day after a tornado touched down south of Edmonton, another may have hit an area just north of Calgary.
Heather Rombough, meteorologist with Environment Canada, says the weather agency got a call from a reliable source before 9 p.m. Friday that there was a tornado on the ground for about five minutes in addition to golfball-sized hail in the Didsbury area.
Environment Canada also received limited photographic evidence, but no reports of damage.
“There were reports until much later in the evening,” Rombough said. “It seems likely but we can’t confirm for sure.”
The reports come a day after the weather agency confirmed a twister in the Ponoka area, which caused damage to at least five homes, a holiday trailer, and a housing construction site.
According to a special weather statement, meteorologists were tracking a dangerous rotating storm Thursday evening, and many storm-chasers reported seeing a funnel cloud as well as some damage.
A preliminary assessment of the damage indicates a tornado with winds up to 130 km/h hit Ponoka around 5:10 p.m.
In addition, the weather agency received other severe weather reports Thursday, including a funnel cloud west of Carstairs, as well as hail, rain, and high winds in other parts of southern Alberta.
Rombough said wild weather is pretty common at this time of year particularly in the region along the foothills.
