Calgary

Tornado tore through garage, tossed bale stacker 200 m in southern Alberta

A tornado destroyed a garage, tossed a bale stacker about 200 metres and sent a large tree branch through the wall of a house in southern Alberta on Thursday afternoon, Environment Canada said Friday.

Wind speeds reached up to 175 km/h, say meteorologists in preliminary report

The Albertan who took this photo says it was calm 10 minutes before the tornado appeared near Carmangay, and 'massive hail' followed. (Silsbeer1/Twitter)

A tornado destroyed a garage, tossed a bale stacker about 200 metres and sent a large tree branch through the wall of a house in southern Alberta on Thursday afternoon, Environment Canada said Friday.

The tornado reached speeds of up to 175 km/h, the agency said.

The tornado was first spotted around 5:20 p.m. It was created by a strong low pressure system that moved across Alberta bringing severe thunderstorms to much of the province, according to a preliminary report by Environment Canada meteorologists.

Severe hail as large as 3.5 cm in diameter was reported east of Carmangay and in Calgary, while hailstones the size of quarters — about 2.5 cm — were reported north of Blackie. 

Anyone with photos, videos or information about the freak weather event is asked to email [email protected] or call 1-800-239-0484.

A bowl of hail collected in Calgary on Thursday. Severe hail as large as 3.5 cm in diameter was reported east of Carmangay and in Calgary, while hailstones the size of quarters were reported north of Blackie.  (Courtesy Sathi Achutan )