Storm Chase Details
Chase Date: July 1, 2016
Miles Logged: 117
States Chased: Alberta
Tornadoes Witnessed: 1
Milestones:
First Canadian Chase
Severe Risks: SPC Outlooks
Chase Recap:
What a surprise – I landed in Calgary, Alberta from San Francisco about 6 pm. I had plans to meet up with Chris and Beth in Airdrie for dinner. After clearing customs, gathering my things and getting my car, I was off to grab dinner and celebrate Canada day.
Storms Possible
I knew storms were possible, so I kept checking the radar on my phone throughout dinner. A storm had started to develop off the mountains just to my north near Sundre.
Storm Chasing in Canada
I headed north on Alberta highway 2 then west through Didsbury on AB-582. I ended up getting west of Didsbury before stopping and realizing the storm was moving faster than I thought. It was also coming at me, so I stopped and setup.
EF-0 Tornado?
The structure was quite pretty and a brief tornado seemingly touched down. It was by far the slowest tornado I’ve ever seen, but Environment Canada confirmed an EF-0. I’m still not sure I’d call that a tornado, but I guess there was some damage.
I followed the storm to the southeast, eventually crossing AB-2 again and running into Chris, Braydon and Ronnie. It was good to meet up with some Canadian chasers under a storm! And what a storm, with a great sculpted mesocyclone structure. Here is a video of the storm as it drifted east.
I followed things further east of AB-2 where eventually I broke off the chase. It was dark and I had a hotel in Edmonton, so I needed to drive up there. It had been a long day of travel that started the morning in San Francisco.
