{"id":805256,"date":"2026-07-16T08:35:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/805256\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T08:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:35:09","slug":"after-summers-of-wildfire-smoke-alberta-drenched-by-record-setting-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/805256\/","title":{"rendered":"After summers of wildfire smoke,\u00a0Alberta\u00a0drenched by record-setting rain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summertime in\u00a0Alberta\u00a0usually consists of wildfire smoke, but this year has been different.<\/p>\n

Several parts of the province have been hit by storms. Edmonton was hammered by record-breaking rain in June and is on its way to doing it again this month, says Environment Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlberta\u00a0was actually on a kind of a trend of getting drier each year until this year,\u201d said Dan Fulton, a meteorologist with the agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year is kind of an outlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Alberta\u2019s capital city saw 264 millimetres of rain in June, smashing the record of 216 millimetres set in 1914.<\/p>\n

Fulton said about 360 millimetres of rain has fallen in June and July so far, and the city is set to break a summer record of 417 millimetres from 1953.<\/p>\n

About 25 tornadoes have also been recorded across the province this year.\u00a0Alberta\u00a0and Saskatchewan usually see 16 tornadoes combined each year, Fulton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like the American Midwest. They get crazy tornadoes and weather, and it\u2019s as though that has shifted north into the Canadian Prairies this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the last few weeks, rain in Edmonton has flooded streets, downed power lines and damaged recreation facilities.<\/p>\n

The city said several parts of the Yellowhead Trail freeway were closed for flooding after an early Wednesday storm.<\/p>\n

Edmonton\u2019s science centre also closed its doors, likely until November, after rain flooded the building last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a planning estimate, not a confirmed reopening date, and we continue to explore opportunities for a safe partial reopening earlier in the fall,\u201d Telus World of Science said on its website.<\/p>\n

Angel Ryder said she bought rubber boots for the first time this year, after she was driving on an Edmonton street that was flooded by a downpour.<\/p>\n

She had to abandon her car.<\/p>\n

The water was almost up to her knees, she said, and she was carrying her mother\u2019s dog. \u201cShe was quite scared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryder said she\u2019s used to breathing wildfire smoke this time of the year, not walking through floodwaters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have some doozies of storms, but the flooding isn\u2019t to the extent that it\u2019s been this year,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s good for the trees, it\u2019s definitely great for the forests, but it\u2019s not so good for us. It\u2019s causing havoc in the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ivan Romanchak said his Edmonton basement and dozens of homes on his street were flooded Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The back alley was like a shallow river.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe water was all the way up to probably like your waistline,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rob de Pruis, national director of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said Albertans have submitted more claims for flooding and hail damage this year than from wildfires.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing this year so far is there hasn\u2019t been a lot of wildfire activity that\u2019s impacted communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been thousands of insurance claims that have been presented in\u00a0Alberta\u00a0because of severe weather, from water damage like flooding, to hail damage, to wind damage as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

An early June storm has resulted in about $80 million worth of claims from Edmonton, he said. Estimates for other weather events are still coming in.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlood seems to be the most severe weather event that we are experiencing this year so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n

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