Storm clouds descend on downtown Calgary

Calgary under severe thunderstorm watch

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The City of Calgary has been placed under a severe thunderstorm watch.

The alert was issued just before 10:30 a.m. Sunday by Environment Canada and urges Calgarians to monitor weather information during the day.

The advisory originally stated that “thunderstorms will develop along the foothills early this afternoon,” and that the “thunderstorms may produce large hail and strong winds.”

It also said that extremely heavy rains and lightning were a possibility.

“We’ll be getting a little clearing to warm things up and help develop the storm,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Justin Patten.

“It looks like an environment that could support decent-sized hail.”

The storm would likely reach Calgary in the late afternoon or evening, he said.

Memories of a disastrous 2020 rain and hail storm in parts of Calgary, particularly in the northeast, remain fresh.

The June 13, 2020 event damaged thousands of homes and vehicles in that quadrant of the city, causing an estimated $1.3 billion in insurable damage to make it one of the costliest weather events in Canadian history.

Many residents are still awaiting repairs to their homes and settlements with insurers.

Much of southwestern Ontario should expect a very wet end to the weekend.

Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch on Sunday for much of southwestern Ontario including London, Middlesex County, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton. A severe thunderstorm warning was also briefly issued for London, Middlesex and Sarnia-Lambton but it has since ended.

The weather agency said conditions are currently favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms capable of producing wind gusts up to 90 kilometres per hour, large hail up to two centimetres in diameter, and heavy rainfall.

The weather agency added that the showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue into Monday, with 30-50 mm of rain expected by the morning. The heavy rain is a result of a cold front that is currently moving south through the southwest region.

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