While severe thunderstorms were forecast throughout the capital region and surrounding area, officials with Environment Canada issued a series of warnings and watches for a number of regions throughout the area.
At about 1:40 p.m., the province issued a warning of a possible tornado, from a rotating severe thunderstorm in the Devon area.
As of just before 2 p.m., Leduc, Camrose, Wetaskiwin, Tofield, and Edmonton, St. Albert and Sherwood Park were all under tornado warnings.
Watches issued for tornados and severe thunderstorms just after 1 p.m. Wednesday for Fort Saskatchewan, Vegreville, Redwater, Smoky Lake remained in effect.
Those watches were upgraded to warnings just before 4 p.m., in addition to warnings for Leduc, Camrose, Wetaskiwin and Tofield.
At about 3:30 p.m., the tornado warnings were lifted for Spruce Grove, Morinville, Mayerthorpe, Evansburg, and Drayton Valley, Devon, Rimbey, Pigeon Lake.
By 4 p.m. the tornado warning for the Edmonton, St. Albert and Sherwood Park areas was lifted, two hours after it was put in place.
About half an hour later, all tornado warnings had been lifted - and by 4:45 p.m. the watches were also lifted.
Environment Canada said current conditions were favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms, with the potential to produce tornados and very large hail, heavy rain, lightning and powerful winds.
On Edmonton's roads, police asked drivers to stay away from 107 Avenue and 163 Street, as water had accumulated in the roadway - and vehicles were reportedly stalling out.
City officials said they had received about 90 calls about flooding, mostly about flooded roads and manhole covers that had popped off – but the flooding wasn’t concentrated to any particular area.
“It is important for us that if citizens do have some concerns about the flooding, flooding in their neighbourhoods, they have some street flooding or some tree branches that had been blown down by the wind or the hail, or there is flooding of park trails, anything of that nature,” Chris Ward with the City of Edmonton said. “Please call 311, we will respond to all calls, and we will take everything seriously and get crews out to deal with it.”
No reports of flooding in basements or serious damage to property have been made; however, extra crews have been called in to clean up the mess left by the storm.
With files from Ashley Molnar and Nicole Weisberg
