Any memories of the '87 Tornado in Edmonton? [Archive]

Coldrsx

Feb 22, 2008, 6:15 PM

^i have a few...

We flew over the tornado that day and had a bird's eye view...i moved here from Ottawa the hour it hit the city.

We couldnt get to our new house in the SW because the road was flooded for 2 days.

...but most importantly...we were moving here because my father had just been appointed the director general of the Prairies for environment Canada...basically the head of the weather service. When we got off the plane, he was taken immediately to "the office" and i didnt see him for 3-4 days as he had to do damage control, assessment, and media.

July 31, 1987 is truly a day that has a lifelong tie to myself and my family.

SHOFEAR

Feb 22, 2008, 6:19 PM

I remember giant hail and my father yelling when my mother got to close to the bay window in the kitchen. I was three and it is my first memory.

We drove in from Calgary an hour or so before it hit and my parents have always said the clouds along the highway were out of this world.

newfangled

Feb 22, 2008, 6:21 PM

We were coming back from a family vacation in Hawaii. We circled the airport for a long time before landing - it seemed like hours, but I was a kid so what did I know? We finally landed, got our luggage and got in the car. It was raining, but we didn't know anything was going on.

A few minutes later we're driving down highway 2 and my dad asks "What's that?"

We look out the backwindow to see a funnel cloud that's probably a few kms behind us, and we're just in time to see it touch down and kick up a cloud of debris.

The rest of the drive home was pretty interesting too:

There was snow/hail on the side of the road in some areas.
There seemed to be lightning everywhere. I remember seeing multiple lightning strikes in the median between QEII N & S. That was pretty freaky.
And the underpasses on the whitemud were all partially flooded, with a fair number of abandoned cars.

JAH

Feb 22, 2008, 6:21 PM

I was about 9 yrs old at the time, didn't even know what the hell a tornado was!

I remember running outside with a bucket over my head and collecting baseball-sized hail with my cousin, and putting them in the freezer. My dad worked at AltaSteel (stelco) at the time, and his plant got hit pretty bad.

feepa

Feb 22, 2008, 6:27 PM

http://www.cbc.ca/edmonton/features/1987tornado/MT/

feepa

Feb 22, 2008, 6:28 PM

Rugx4gdG03w

TimB09

Feb 22, 2008, 6:31 PM

I was three when it hit and all I remember is my Dad running outside to pick up the hail. He brought it in the house and we had it in our freezer for a week.

I also remember how intense the lightning was and how hard it was raining. We lived in Duggan at the time, close to Southgate, but we weren't to close to the tornado, although Millwoods is fairly close to us.

I heard it reached F5 in some stages. Since that tornado, I have been fascinated by tornados and want to learn more. I would ultimately like to spend a summer in the States(Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, etc.) and see some of these things develop. Crazy, I know.

feepa

Feb 22, 2008, 6:32 PM

http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/~rob/tornado87.htm

EDMONTON TORNADO 1987
This page was developed to honor those who died on July 31, 1987 in Edmonton's worst natural disaster.
Jim Allan, Sharon Denise Andruchow, Marie Jeanette Barker, Manuel Carreiro, George Demetrius, Ed Dery, Ajmer Dhaliwal, Lloyd Fankhanel, Richard Gillespie, Grant Hartfeil, Daniel Lewis, To Ly, Edito Mendosa, Clem Nault, Alfred & Etta Nolin, Graham Palmer, Mary Putnam, Kelly Pancel, Darcy Reimer, Dawn Reimer, Dianne Reimer, Marvin Reimer, Pat Robinson, Merle Shirley Rosychuk, Gregory Trabenik, Eugene Zaparyniuk.

This series of 12 photographs illustrates the development of the tornado from its start in Millwoods through to where it passed the office building I was working in on 98th avenue and 50th street. The photographs are unedited and some show reflections from the lights and blinds behind me.
Click on the photos for a larger image.
http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado1.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado1.JPG)..1...http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado2.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado2.JPG)..2...http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado3.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado3.JPG)..3
http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado4.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado4.JPG)..4...http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado5.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado5.JPG)..5...http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado6.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado6.JPG)..6
http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado7.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado7.JPG)..7...http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado8.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado8.JPG)..8...http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado9.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado9.JPG)..9
http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado10.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado10.JPG)..10...http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado11.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado11.JPG)..11...http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/s-tornado12.JPG (http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/%7Erob/tornado12.JPG)..12

On July 31, 1987, a tornado ripped though Edmonton killing 27 people and causing 330 million dollars in property damage. I watched and photographed the tornado from the office building I was working in that afternoon. The 12 photographs I took remained in my camera for a couple of days before I had them developed. When I finally got the photographs processed, I couldn't believe the quality of the images. A number of people at work expressed an interest in getting a set of photographs and I obliged, selling a few sets and donating the proceeds to the Red Cross. One of the local newspapers caught on to the story and before I knew it, I had sold $10,000.00 worth. All the money was quietly donated to the Red Cross Tornado Relief Fund about three weeks after the disaster. I learned later that my contribution matched the largest corporate donation made to the fund. I hope my contribution helped.

feepa

Feb 22, 2008, 6:33 PM

The Edmonton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton) Tornado was a powerful and devastating tornado (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado) that ripped through the eastern part of Edmonton, Alberta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta), Canada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada) and parts of neighbouring Strathcona County (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strathcona_County%2C_Alberta) on the afternoon of Friday, July 31 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_31), 1987 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987) (also known as "Black Friday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday)" to Edmontonians).
The tornado remained on the ground for an hour, cutting a path of destruction 40 kilometres (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometres) (25 miles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mile)) long and up to a kilometre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometre) (0.6 miles, or 3000 feet) wide in places, and peaking at F4[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_Tornado#_note-rating) on the Fujita scale (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujita_scale), but may have briefly become an F5[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_Tornado#_note-1). The tornado killed 27 people, injured more than 300 people, destroyed more than 300 homes, and caused more than $330 million in property damage at four major disaster sites. The loss of life, injuries and destruction of property made it the worst natural disaster in Alberta's recent history and one of the worst in Canada's history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_Tornado

TimB09

Feb 22, 2008, 6:35 PM

For a tornado to remain on the ground for an hour is unheard of really. Those are rare rare cases where they do. Usually they last anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes.

ExcaliburKid

Feb 22, 2008, 6:36 PM

I lived in Millwoods, approx. 35th Ave and 50th street. Remember standing in the living room with my mom, I was 3 at the time, and watching the thing go by in the distance. Didnt really understand the urgency of the situation at the time, but went out afterward and collected at least 3 or 4 of the hail stones. Kinda scary to think back because my dad worked near the Esso refinery at the time, which was pretty close to the tornado path. His building was untouched though.

Mycroft

Feb 22, 2008, 6:37 PM

I remember driving with my dad to go get some KFC or something for dinner...as soon as we pulled in to the drive-thru, we saw this enormous black mass of clouds reaching towards the ground. My dad jammed the car into reverse and we booked it home and had soup instead...I was pretty little, but I remember knowing that there were tornado warnings and being pretty freaked out.

Greco Roman

Feb 22, 2008, 6:39 PM

I was living in Winnipeg when this happened.

However, I do recall travelling with several other family members out to Alberta that year. It was a few weeks after the tornado had occured. After visiting my uncle in Calgary, we were driving up to Edmonton. I remember that everytime I saw a dark cloud, I would think a tornado was coming; the same one that just struck Edmonton. Keep in mind I was only 7 :)

I also remember that when we visited WEM during this trip, the rollercoaster was not in operation due to that man falling out of his seat and ultimately dying. I wanted to go on that thing so bad, but had to settle for the submarine instead.

That was one hell of a trip, and one hell of a year for Edmonton.

Coldrsx

Feb 22, 2008, 6:41 PM

http://www.ee.ualberta.ca/~rob/tornado87.htm

many of these pictures were from my dad's office if i recall.

towerguy3

Feb 22, 2008, 7:11 PM

Are you talking about the rollercoaster at Galaxyland? So there has been one death on that coaster?

Jasper and one o nin

Feb 22, 2008, 7:16 PM

I was in refinery row 19 street between sh park frwy and baseline rd. 3 ppl were killed in the building across the street from where I was. The building i was in had the roof partially fall in and partially blown away. The tornado passed directly overhead. When I went outside, it was almost as if i was in a completely different place that I was 10 minutes before. Building material was everywhere, cars moved around and the steel building across the street was in a pile of twisted metal.

lubicon

Feb 22, 2008, 7:19 PM

I was working in the Red Earth area the day it happened and remember hearing about it on the radio. I recall the day being very hot and humid and we got some pretty good thunderstorms in our area later in the afternoon. The first time I saw the path the storm took in person I was floored by the amount of damage. I remember an old farmyard just east of Millwoods on 23rd Ave. The trees were all sheared off like someone took a chainsaw to them about 20-30 feet off the ground. It was still that way when I leved in Edmonton in 1997. Not sure if the area has been developed now or if that old yard is still there.

newfangled

Feb 22, 2008, 7:20 PM

Are you talking about the rollercoaster at Galaxyland? So there has been one death on that coaster?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindbender_(Galaxyland)#Crash

On the evening of June 14th, 1986, some time after completing the second inverted loop, loose bolts on the wheel assemblies caused the wheels on the final car of the four-car yellow train to become disengaged during a regular run with a full load of riders. This caused the final car to bounce wildly, throwing off passengers and losing speed. The train entered the third and final inverted loop, but did not have the speed to complete the loop. The train stalled at the top, then slid backwards, crashing into a concrete pillar. Three people were killed during the accident and a fourth man was paralyzed.

Boris2k7

Feb 22, 2008, 7:22 PM

I was still in my mother's womb somewhere in suburban Edmonton. Be glad that the tornado never came my way, for you might not have been able to behold my magnificence.

lubicon

Feb 22, 2008, 7:30 PM

I was still in my mother's womb somewhere in suburban Edmonton. Be glad that the tornado never came my way, for you might not have been able to behold my magnificence.

That just makes me feel real old Boris:(

SHOFEAR

Feb 22, 2008, 7:34 PM

I remember an old farmyard just east of Millwoods on 23rd Ave. The trees were all sheared off like someone took a chainsaw to them about 20-30 feet off the ground. It was still that way when I leved in Edmonton in 1997. Not sure if the area has been developed now or if that old yard is still there.

On the north east corner of 34 and 23? Pretty sure it's developed.

Xelebes

Feb 22, 2008, 7:57 PM

34th and 23rd has been developed a long time - since 1992? I remember going through that intersection lots.

Anyways, I was just 2 years old - not old enough to remember. I will tell the story that my family was able to tell. We were living in Millbourne (Millwoods), can't recall the address but we got a pretty close view of the tornado. My older brothers were over at their friend's house when my mom tried calling them over before the storm hit.

My dad was working in the west-end in the industrial zone there and was quite oblivious to the tornado. He got to go home early and could only see a pretty strong storm. HE turned on the radio and heard that a tornado was in effect and was going through the east end. He was on 170th when he heard that.

When the tornado approached, my mom panicked. Me and my younger sister were asleep so we really couldn't experience it. My older sister was awake but she barely has any recollection. I know my mom was panicked and she was running around the house, grabbing supplies and getting everybody to the basement. We all hid in the basement for a while.

When we got out to survey the damage, our house was untouched but some of our neighbour's property was trashed by flying debris. I know my neighbour's car was totalled or something.

lubicon

Feb 22, 2008, 8:02 PM

On the north east corner of 34 and 23? Pretty sure it's developed.

I remember it being on the south side of 23rd and east of 34th Street but maybe I'm wrong. It was definately still there in 1997 when I still lived in 'the Chuck'.

Coldrsx

Feb 22, 2008, 8:05 PM

^strip mall if i recall

JAH

Feb 22, 2008, 8:17 PM

NE corner of 23ave/34st is now a developed neighbourhood, called Springside. Xelebes, I lived in Millbourne area at that time too, near Lee Ridge School haha

CanadianCentaur

Feb 22, 2008, 8:58 PM

I was in Drumheller with my foster family to see the dinosaur museum when the tornado hit. It was hot as hell, with temps probably in the mid-30s in the Badlands and sunny at the time, but I did see large thunderheads to the northwest. No severe weather ever occured in the Drumheller area, and it was a lot cooler the next day with partly cloudy skies.

None of us were even aware that the tornado happened until we returned to our motel by around 4:00 pm. The motel's receptionist, knowing we were from the Edmonton area, told us to check out the news ASAP.

My foster family lived on an acreage near Ardrossan, so of course there was no damage. But the neighbours did tell me that there were "wild clouds" and "action in the skies" during the time of the tornado. Since Ardrossan is a little far to the east, they weren't aware that there was a twister until they heard the news.

A few days before the tornado, I remember seeing a huge and unusual shelf/roll cloud go overhead, and that it also went over Edmonton. It was quite thick and had a striated and smooth sculpted look to it. The sculpted appearance was likely because of strong winds aloft, although it was pretty calm on the ground at the time.

Xelebes

Feb 22, 2008, 9:25 PM

NE corner of 23ave/34st is now a developed neighbourhood, called Springside. Xelebes, I lived in Millbourne area at that time too, near Lee Ridge School haha

You went to Lee Ridge or Julia Kiniski? If you went to Julia Kiniski, you were probably in the same class as my oldest brother.

ExcaliburKid

Feb 22, 2008, 9:51 PM

^I went to Hillview w00t

SHOFEAR

Feb 23, 2008, 4:13 AM

34th and 23rd has been developed a long time - since 1992? I remember going through that intersection lots

The west side yes. It seemed that the city had stalled for years there. The east side must of been not much more than five years ago.

Aylmer

Feb 23, 2008, 4:16 AM

I was nestled in non-existance on the right hand of God (naturaly).

Edmonchuck

Feb 23, 2008, 4:54 PM

That day was surreal.

I have a rather long story as I was at yXD at the time, and saw most of it from there. A really scary departure and people in the PWA crew room wondering WTF Enviro Canada was talking about when PIREPS had more information than "potential convective activity". More like "WTF is THAT!!!!"

Scary departures, huge wind shear, and a lot of white-faced pilots were the norm.

I remember that day well. It had a few friends rather scared, and others near dead.

Coldrsx

Feb 23, 2008, 6:41 PM

for those who dont know...Canada began its implimentation of Doppler radar because of this tornado.

feepa

Feb 23, 2008, 7:33 PM

for those who dont know...Canada began its implimentation of Doppler radar because of this tornado.

Yup, and everytime a storm nears Carvel, the super old doppler goes down.

That radar station needs to be replaced with newer technology already.

Edmonchuck

Feb 24, 2008, 1:13 AM

ACTUALLY...

It is the telecom line that keeps going down (I think you'll get a kick out of that). Not the radar station....

feepa

Feb 24, 2008, 1:51 AM

ACTUALLY...

It is the telecom line that keeps going down (I think you'll get a kick out of that). Not the radar station....

I've heard the same excuse. Whatever... Fix the line. It's not like its 100's of miles in the boonies, and its not a new problem either. In this day and age, you'd think something this important wouldn't be relying on a single cooper twisted pair.

Edmonchuck

Feb 24, 2008, 6:17 AM

It isn't...

chenmau

Feb 27, 2008, 3:42 AM

I remember that day and the days leading up to that day quite well. The clouds were crazy: rolling, dark and foreboding. The humidity was nuts. For years you could drive down Whitemud and see that swath that the tornado cut through the industrial park north of the road.

I also remember that when we visited WEM during this trip, the rollercoaster was not in operation due to that man falling out of his seat and ultimately dying. I wanted to go on that thing so bad, but had to settle for the submarine instead.

I remember that day well too. I was at the 7-11 on 149th St and 95 Ave getting a slurpee when 3 cop cars tore past heading west. I remember thinking that something really big was happening.

sync

Feb 27, 2008, 4:05 PM

i was in drumheller as well on that day.

the drive back to edmonton was surreal - gas stations and stores all had signs saying "help edmonton tornado victims" and the like.

my family lived in gold bar at the time - very close to the refinery row touchdowns.

i remember being in my back yard a couple of days before the tornado and looking up at a very dark green, swirling, and foreboding sky. something about it made me feel uncomfortable - like i should hide.

i'll never forget that.

towerguy3

Mar 28, 2008, 6:47 PM

There are apparently two types of funnel clouds, cold funnels and warm funnels. What is the difference in how they form? Do they appear different? And what exactly is a wall cloud?

rapid_business

Mar 28, 2008, 7:02 PM

Was in Victoria on vacation with my family. We watched it unfold on TV.
My dad was (still is) a CFO of a pipe company on 17th, and the yard there got hit pretty hard. The funnel cloud actually picked up pieces of pipe and tore apart pieces of the office building. Pretty sure one went right through his window and tore the office to shreds. The trailer park where a bunch of people got killed (Maple Ridge) was right across the street.

CanadianCentaur

Mar 28, 2008, 8:04 PM

There are apparently two types of funnel clouds, cold funnels and warm funnels. What is the difference in how they form? Do they appear different? And what exactly is a wall cloud?

A cold air funnel is just a weak and tight circulation which can occur out of any thunderstorm or rain cloud, often from a high cloud base. Condensation from low air pressure from the rapidly spinning column of air makes a funnel cloud visible. Cold air funnel clouds are so weak that they very rarely ever touch ground and become tornadoes. However, the tornado which hit Grande Prairie in July, 2004 in fact started out as an unusually large and strong cold air funnel.

If they occur over any body of water and touch water, they become waterspouts. Waterspouts are generally most common over subtropical/tropical waters, such as off Florida, but also occur in colder waters off BC and Atlantic Canada and lakes almost anywhere in Canada when conditions are right. There is really no such thing as a "warm" funnel.

A wall cloud is a significant, roughly round lowering attached to a rain-free base (also known as the updraft base) of a thunderstorm. They're most common in severe thunderstorms, particularly supercells, which are severe thunderstorms with rotating updrafts. Wall clouds in supercells will often be seen rotating persistently. Most strong/violent tornadoes come from supercells and a wall cloud is generally where a large funnel/tornado will drop down from. The rain-free base and wall cloud is usually located in the southwest side of a supercell.

Wall cloud with a tornado in Kansas, as taken by Mike Hollingshead, a storm chaser from Nebraska.
http://www.extremeinstability.com/stormpics/svr3794.jpg

The 1987 tornado came out of a huge wall cloud, as can be seen below.
http://www.arikah.net/commons/en/d/d1/Edmonton_tornado.jpg

ExcaliburKid

Mar 28, 2008, 8:24 PM

^I cant believe how close it came to Esso. That would have been one huge mess had it hit the plant head on. It missed it by what, 2 maybe 3 city blocks?

canucklehead2

Apr 3, 2008, 10:53 PM

I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was four and my grandpa took my sister and I to the Abbottsfield McDonald's for milkshakes (I had a chocolate one) about 20 minutes before the Tornado it. It just felt really surreal and everything went dark very quick. We just got to my grandparents home in Montrose as the baseball-sized hail started coming down. My uncle went out and grabbed some just after the storm had passed, and we still have it in our freezer. We were headed to Calgary that day, but we had a hard time getting out of Edmonton, especially with the power being out...

STRIDDER69

Mar 28, 2017, 1:02 AM

Is this forum still active because I have an incredible story regarding the tornado......

Hardhatdan

Mar 28, 2017, 1:09 AM

Go on...

tele75

Mar 28, 2017, 3:38 PM

Please do tell..

the.tru.albertan

May 7, 2017, 11:59 AM

Landlocked

May 8, 2017, 5:40 PM

Hmm. Stridder never did tell his story.

I'll tell what I know about it tho. I wasn't around for it. I didn't even exist yet.

But my uncle (Class 1 driver) was hauling equipment thru Edmonton when the storm hit. He said he was on an overpass or something and had a clear view of the twister and baseball sized hail began bashing his truck up. The hail actually smashed the windshield right in. Pretty crazy.

I'll contribute as well:

We had bits of insulation all over our yard in Rundle by the end of it. Had no clue what was happening other than a bad storm with green tinged clouds until we spotted what looked like a huge flock of seagulls (debris) way up in the sky. Two blocks away there was minor house damage, and right across the river there was a CN locomotive tossed into the river valley. The same afternoon we traveled by bike to Evergreen trailer park. A relative lived there and with phones out we wanted to verify they were OK. We couldn't find her place, as the front half of the park was decimated. Standing half'dazed near the stores at the park entrance we were ushered to the side so they could stretcher in the latest body to the make-shift morgue they'd set up in one of the unleased spaces. Won't forget it ever.

Also won't forget the previous day. Also really muggy and mid afternoon there was a single low and eerie tubular cloud that seemed to roll across the city, like some sort of harbinger for what was to come the following day. If I ever see a cloud like that again, we'll be sleeping in the basement that night.

Mikemike

May 8, 2017, 5:55 PM

I was 8, and was playing outside when we saw the darkest greenest skies ever. We kids hid in the little playfort we had under the stairs after mom told us that there was a tornado.

We were leaving on a 4-week summer vacation the next day(as I remember it, it could have been a couple days), and on the way out of town we drove through what I think was the hermitage area to drop off our house keys to some acquaintances of my parents who's home had been damaged so they could live at our place while we were gone. The damage made quite an impression on me - some houses untouched while the neighbours had roofs missing or windows blown out.

McBoo

May 8, 2017, 6:02 PM

Was in media and on-site at the trailer park when I ran across a survivor who had lost everything. Told him I had to talk to some people but stay where he was and I'd take him to a store and then hotel.

Good? Might have been, except he left on his own before I got back.

Saw him a year later at the anniversary. I said ...YOU. He said back ..YOU.

Had literally been thinking about this guy a whole year. So great to see him back on his feet.

Hallsy's Toupee

May 8, 2017, 7:19 PM

I was away on holidays with family at the time - I think we were on Vancouver Island, can't remember. Anyway, that evening we were driving somewhere and on the radio the DJ announced that a series of tornadoes had struck Edmonton and surrounding areas. Naturally we were rather freaked out and were worried about our property, neighbors and friends but we couldn't get more information - couldn't reach anyone via telephone, radio wasn't giving anything more and we had no TV. It wasn't until the next morning that we bought a newspaper and got the full story. We were relieved that our area was not affected but still shocked and saddened by all the death and devastation.

lubicon

May 8, 2017, 9:46 PM

I was in university at the time but working for the summer up near Red Earth. I remember the day being spectacularly beautiful - hot, sunny etc. Just a gorgeous summer day. Listening to CHED and began to hear the reports when the tornado struck and remember seeing the devastation on the news that evening and the next day, it was very sobering to see. talked to my GF that day or the next (I don't recall) as she was living in Edmonton but was near DT so was obviously okay. I also recall moving to Millwoods years later and there was a farm along 23rd Ave around 34 Street or maybe 17 Street, all the trees were cut in half about half way up their original height, it was like someone took a chainsaw to them and lopped them all off. I assume (but am not 100% sure) that the tornado and/or storm also did this as it came right up this stretch of land before hitting refinery row.

kel

May 9, 2017, 2:05 AM

I just started working my first part time job on Monday the beginning of the week at a shop off of 34th street not far from present day Gregg distributors. The day sky was as black as night and some of the tin on the shop roof blew off and it sounded like a thousand people pounding on the tin roof. To this day my anxiety level goes through the roof (no pun inteneded) anytime a summer storm is approaching. I ended up walking about an hour and a half home because the telephone lines where down and some roads where blocked off around the area I worked at.

SHOFEAR

May 9, 2017, 1:26 PM

Landlocked

May 9, 2017, 2:24 PM

For a few years after, it was a big deal to have a radio and supplies in the cold room in the basement and I recall a few big storms where we went down there. Even at the cabin or the inlaws cabin I have a place picked out that I think would be the best to ride out a tornado....do other people still have a plan in place?

Let's put it this way. I'm still ticked that they got rid of the old air-raid sirens around the city. They'd have been invaluable for getting people's attention.

Xelebes

May 9, 2017, 4:38 PM

I assume (but am not 100% sure) that the tornado and/or storm also did this as it came right up this stretch of land before hitting refinery row.

My parents remember seeing that too.

Coldrsx

Aug 1, 2017, 4:24 AM

Moved here 30 years ago today, flew around the tornado. Pops was coming to run the weather service for Environment Canada. Couldn't get to our house in the SW, Westin was my first home here.

Incredibly memorable day.

Black Star

Aug 1, 2017, 6:50 AM

^Wow:stunned:

Airboy

Aug 1, 2017, 3:25 PM

I was driving back from Vancouver that day. As I drove in from the west I commented on how much water was in the ditches along the road. The sky was still dark to the east and I heard on the radio that there were reports of damage on the east side. By the time I made it to St Albert a half hour later the reports had changed to major catastrophe in Edmonton.

The next day I had a chance to drive through the refinery row area and though I had my cameras with me I may have taken one shot. the rest of the time I was in shock as we drove through the area.

My wife was working at CJCA as the promo girl. She was working the phones when the first calls started coming in. She was on the phone for almost 24 hrs taking calls from crying people looking for loved ones or were calling in shock just to talk.

I had staff coming back to the office from Ft Sask and they saw the tornado hit Evergreen. I remember one of the guys saying they watched and didn't say anything just drove by.

Another staff member was on a project on the south side research park. they saw a fast moving dark cloud. they didn't know it was the tornado. the building they were in got hit by lightning twice that afternoon.

And in St Albert it was a sunny afternoon.