Thousands of people are without power in Alberta on Sunday afternoon, with very strong wind gusts sparking power outages throughout the province.
Wind warnings are in effect for a large portion of Alberta, including heavily populated areas like Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, and Medicine Hat.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says strong northwest winds with gusts between 90 and 110 km/h are expected today, and winds will weaken by this evening.
“Local utility outages are possible. High-sided vehicles will be pushed around by the wind. Damage to roofs, fences, branches or soft shelters is possible. Secure loose objects,” the ECCC warning added.
Power outages in the City of Edmonton sat at three areas as of writing, with Epcor noting that nearly 2,000 customers in the neighbourhoods of Crestwood, Grovenor, Parkview, and River Valley Capitol Hill are in the pocket in Edmonton with the most outages.
According to Enmax, there are no power outages reported in Calgary as of writing.
Outside of YEG and YYC, thousands of people across Alberta are also without power, and you can check out the Fortis Alberta outage map as well as the Atco outage map to see every spot that is experiencing an outage.
Around noon, there is a flurry of power outages all around the province on the Fortis Alberta map, including the Drayton Valley area, Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Carstairs, and Beiseker.
Fortis Alberta
The high winds are also causing rough driving conditions in some parts of the province, with the RCMP in Airdrie issuing a statement shortly before 12:30 p.m. asking area residents to avoid travel as strong winds and blowing snow are causing limited visibility. Police are currently responding to several motor vehicle collisions on area highways, including the QE II.
You can view all current ECCC watches and warnings online.
Have you been impacted by a power outage during this wind storm event in Alberta? Let us know in the comments.