Edmonton area hit by 2nd-strongest winds on record in Thursday storm

Emilie Rubayita · CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 9:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 31

A almighty thunderstorm swept done Edmonton Thursday night, prompting an exigency informing earlier the country was deed by the strongest upwind gusts successful astir 60 years.

Winds successful the portion reached up to 129 km/h, which marks the second-strongest gusts ever recorded successful the city, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

"We're expecting upwind gusts of, mostly speaking, 90 km/h, possibly 100 km/h out of those [thunderstorms]," said Alysa Pederson, a warning preparedness meteorologist for the agency.

ECCC said the tempest developed from a beardown low-pressure strategy and acold front, which is emblematic of Alberta's summertime thunderstorm season. 

But this lawsuit was much aggravated than usual, prompting a uncommon "broadcast intrusive" alert, reserved for lone the astir terrible conditions, Pederson said.

The tempest moved successful fast, hitting the Edmonton International Airport astir 7:15 p.m. MT Thursday, causing structural harm to a fewer buildings and the windows of vehicles successful respective lots.

"It was a speedy one. It came done present successful astir 4 minutes from commencement to finish," said Erin Isfeld, the Edmonton International Airport's manager of firm communications. 

"We truly came done this beauteous overmuch unscathed, erstwhile you deliberation astir harm to structures and vehicles; that benignant of happening tin beryllium replaced oregon fixed. What we're truly blessed astir is that nary 1 was injured." she said. 

Airport officials had a fewer minutes' informing earlier the tempest struck and moved rapidly to support unit and travellers.

The airdrome closed its departure-level ramp successful lawsuit of flying debris, and unit ushered radical into the terminal to guarantee their safety, Isfeld said.

Four flights were diverted to Calgary, and the airdrome experienced a abbreviated crushed delay. Operations resumed wrong an hour.

Airport unit knew the tempest was coming, Isfeld said, "but I'm not excessively definite anybody truly anticipated winds of 129 km/h."

"We haven't seen winds present astatine Edmonton International similar that for the past 60 years," she said. "So [it's] a precise uncommon lawsuit to hap here."

Pederson, of ECCC, said Edmonton past experienced stronger winds connected Oct. 1, 1965, erstwhile gusts reached 146 km/h. 

The tempest caused harm crossed respective Edmonton neighbourhoods and surrounding areas. Trees were uprooted oregon snapped, and debris damaged immoderate homes, fences, vehicles and powerfulness lines.

Kolton Canning, an arbourist and proprietor of Trusty Tree Services, said his business' phones haven't stopped ringing. 

"We are struggling to support up and we person a precise specialized squad and strategy to woody with this," helium said.

His crews are removing monolithic fallen trees, including a 21-metre pine that crashed onto a home, helium said.

They're dealing with a assortment of trees, but a batch of pines and spruce fell connected cars, sheds, houses and fences, helium said, adding that areas similar Brookside, Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan were deed peculiarly hard.

In the aftermath, Epcor reported 4 powerfulness outages affecting 37 customers successful assorted parts of Edmonton, but crews restored powerfulness by the extremity of the night.

WATCH | Why upwind gusts prompted an utmost upwind alert successful immoderate parts of Alberta: 

"While our electrical strategy is designed to grip a wide assortment of conditions, outages bash hap for a assortment of reasons, including precocious winds and storms," Epcor said successful a statement. 

Residents are urged not to attack downed powerfulness lines oregon branches tangled successful electrical wires. Instead, they should enactment 10 metres backmost and study it to 911 oregon the inferior company, Epcor said.

"We volition nonstop a unit with due information instrumentality to region the entity and repair immoderate damage," the institution said.

Pederson, from ECCC, noted that clime alteration could cause more events similar this.

"We are seeing impacts of clime alteration crossed Alberta, crossed occidental North America. The further northbound you are, the greater that alteration is," she said.

"Warmer aerial means it tin clasp much moisture, which leads to its quality to person bigger thunderstorms and bigger extremes for terrible weather."