Despite a week of hot weather and high humidity, nobody could have guessed the nightmarish scenario awaiting Edmontonians that Black Friday twenty-five years ago.
On July 31, 1987, just before 3 p.m. , a tornado touched down near Leduc. It cut a path of destruction ranging from 100 to 1000 metres wide, tearing across east Edmonton and Strathcona County some 40 kilometres.
Help was quick to arrive to those who found themselves directly in the tornado’s path. Even with debris flying through the air, rescue workers, and even average citizens scrambled to help the injured and search for survivors amongst the wreckage.
The "Edmonton Tornado" killed 27 people, hospitalized 53, injured at least 250 and caused approximately $330 M in damage.
At least four other tornadoes, including one that touched down intermittently between Millet and Vegreville, occurred in north central Alberta that day. None of them compared to the intensity, nor caused the devastation of the Edmonton Tornado.
Tennis ball-size hail pounded homes in an area of approximately 125 square kilometers to the west of the tornado's path.
Melissa Southern, six-years-old at the time, still vividly remembers the tornado. Melissa recalls asking her mother to set up the wading pool in their Mill Woods backyard, but with big black clouds rolling in, she said no.
"I remember the power going out and my mom thinking it was weird," said Southern, "She had no idea to head to the basement or what was going on, really."
Like many Edmontonians, Southern says her and her family had no sense of the severity of the storm that littered their backyard with baseball-sized hail. It wasn't until they headed out the next day to survey the damage, that she appreciated how lucky they were.
In the aftermath of the tornado, changes were put in place to better inform the public of severe weather. As a result, Edmonton became the first weather station in western Canada to get a Doppler radar system - as a way to better detect rotation that could be a sign of tornadoes.
The province also introduced the Emergency Public Warning System, launched in 1991 giving local government officials the ability to broadcast an emergency warning quickly directly to radio, cable and television.
Anniversaries and eulogies serve to memorialize the devastation and loss of life on Friday, July 31, 1987. No amount of time will erase the memories of those who were "touched" by the Edmonton Tornado, it's changed the way people in north central Alberta look at summer.
On a hot, humid July day when dark clouds fill the skies overhead, it's nearly impossible for Edmontonians who either witnessed the devastation first hand, or only heard the stories not to look up and think of Black Friday all over again.
