Alberta's first tornado of the year occurred near Airdrie on the afternoon of April 29 confirmed the Northern Tornadoes Project.
"Given the parent storm was an isolated, non-rotating storm, the tornado was of the landspout variety," stated the Northern Tornadoes Project online.
With no reports of damage, Environment and Climate Change Canada rated this tornado Enhanced Fujita (EF) zero, the weakest on the EF scale. The scale is used to rate a tornado based on estimated wind speeds and related damage, with zero being the lowest and five being the highest.
A witness recorded a video of the tornado as it developed beneath a rapidly developing storm cell.
The tornado appeared around 4:25 p.m. just north of Kathyrn, east of Airdrie.
The last EF4 tornado in Alberta occurred last year on Canada Day near Didsbury, north of Carstairs with wind speeds up to 310 kilometres per hour.
