With one tornado already seen in the district this year, West Central Alberta residents shouldn't be surprised to see more of the potentially very dangerous twisters this summer, according to David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.
“With all of that moisture that you've had (in Alberta), a lot of that moisture will evaporate and charge the atmosphere,” Phillips told the Gazette. “So one might even say that if you do get warmer than normal temperatures you might expect a bit more active weather.
“I couldn't give you a forecast for severe weather. There are no scientific models that would be able to provide you with a heads up that this would be a rip-roaring summer. That said, we know that year in and year out Alberta will get strong winds and tornado events.”
Alberta gets an average of 15 tornados a summer, he noted.
There were no reports of injuries or property damage after a tornado was spotted south of Cremona shortly before 5 p.m. June 27.
Area resident Shannon Kinch took photos of the twister as it moved through the sky near her property.
“My husband spotted it as he was cutting the lawn,” said Kinch. “We were standing there watching it and only after it dissipated did we think that maybe we should have taken shelter.”
A similar size twister was seen in the same area in 2011, she said.
Mountain View County Division 1 councillor Patricia McKean, whose property is just north of where the June 27 tornado was seen, said there was severe weather in the area at the time.
“We have three and a half inches of rain in half a hour on Friday (June 27),” said McKean.
