Environment Canada links Tornado Alberta to Girouxville damage

Tornado alberta touched down near Girouxville on Monday evening, after a supercell thunderstorm developed in the Peace River region of northwestern Alberta. Environment Canada said the storm formed behind a frontal system, and residents reported damage as the weather moved through the area.

Janelle Gergely, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said, "We had a big frontal system move through and in behind that main front we had an area of showers" and that "On the southern area of showers, a supercell developed and that produced a tornado."

Girouxville damage

Riley Connors, who lives in Girouxville about 4.5 hours northwest of Edmonton, was driving home from work when the storm rolled in. He said he saw a funnel cloud start to form and described the wind as sudden and strong. "I’ve never seen anything like that before," he said.

Connors said his metal roof was damaged and his truck window was smashed. He also said there was "bunch of damage on vehicles and roofs."

Reports near Girouxville

Environment Canada received a report of the twister near Girouxville around 8 p.m., then another report about 90 minutes later from High Prairie, about 80 kilometres southeast of Girouxville. The agency works with the Northern Tornadoes Project out of Western University to confirm tornado events, and the project documents tornadoes and thunderstorm-related wind damage across Canada.

Dr. Dave Sills said the project uses the data to build tornado risk models, inform the insurance industry and building codes, verify Environment Canada’s tornado warning program, and track long-term weather patterns. He said the project has built its data set back to 1980, which gives researchers a longer record to compare what happened Monday night with past tornado activity.

Northern Tornadoes Project

The reports from Girouxville and High Prairie gave meteorologists two points to compare after the storm passed, and the project’s damage documentation will be part of how the event is entered into the record. For residents who saw the funnel cloud or found damage later, the practical next step is to document what was hit and where, since those details help establish the tornado path across the Peace River region.