A low pressure system swept across central Alberta Thursday, triggering thunderstorms and at least one tornado.
Environment Canada confirmed a tornado touched down at approximately 5:30 p.m. near Breton, which is approximately 49 kilometers southwest of Drayton Valley.
The tornado has not been rated, but meteorologist Kyle Cleary says it will most likely be rated an EF0, the lowest on the scale.
The severe storm originally formed 30 kilometers south of Edson, and travelled east for several hours towards Leduc.
According to Environment Canada’s summary of the storm some places in Drayton Valley and around Thorsby received golf ball sized hail. Warburg got nailed with walnut sized hail and areas southwest of Calmar were hit with ping pong sized hail.
The storm sparked off an Alberta Emergency Alert of a possible tornado for Brazeau County, which was dropped after nearly 20 minutes.
Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologists have not received any reports of damage at this time.
by Laine Mitchell
July 14, 2017
