Large tornado in central Alberta damages homes, but no injuries reported
By Rob Drinkwater, The Canadian Press on July 1, 2023.
DIDSBURY, Alta. – Police say a tornado in central Alberta has damaged homes but no injuries have come to light so far. Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a tornado warning at 1:50 p.m. local time on Saturday, noting meteorologists were tracking a severe thunderstorm in Mountain View County that was producing a tornado near Didsbury, Alta. RCMP said they received reports of a large tornado in the county along Highway 2 at Highway 581, ranging from one to two kilometres wide. Police said numerous homes were damaged, and while they initially said there were reports of injuries, Cpl. Gina Slaney later said there were no known injuries as of yet. The tornado warning was later ended. Lisa Arrowsmith, a former Canadian Press reporter, was driving south on Highway 2 towards Calgary with her husband on Saturday afternoon when she said the sky got dark and they could see a very large funnel cloud to their right. “The thing that came to my mind is we either have to turn around and drive as fast as we can the other way, or we have to try to outrun this,” Arrowsmith said, although she explained that turning around on the divided highway would have been next to impossible due to barriers. “You make a split-second decision, and we just thought, well, we’d better just floor it and hope for the best.” She said many people had pulled over to shoot video of the twister. But she kept the pedal down and after some hail hit the car, they knew they were finally in the clear, she said. “It was very frightening to think maybe you were going to get caught on the highway with nowhere to hide and nowhere to seek shelter,” she said. Storm chaser Aaron Jayjack posted video online of a tornado near Didsbury crossing a highway, appearing to damage two rural homes on both sides of the roadway. In the video, he calls out to anyone who might be in one of the homes, but is prevented from getting any closer due to downed utility lines blocking the driveway. Police said they would provide further information when it becomes available. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2023. 15-14
