{"id":830645,"date":"2026-07-28T04:23:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/830645\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T04:23:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:23:55","slug":"edmonton-under-severe-thunderstorm-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/830645\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton under severe thunderstorm warning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just as Edmonton was recovering from the damage caused by a massive storm over the weekend, a severe thunderstorm rolled into the Edmonton area Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Environment Canada says the storm could produce damaging wind gusts, up to quarter-size hail and very heavy rain.<\/p>\n

The weather agency initially issued a thunderstorm watch for Edmonton, St. Albert and Sherwood Park at 11:30 a.m. but later upgraded it to a warning. <\/p>\n

The storms were located from Devon to Spruce Grove and were moving northeast toward Edmonton at 30 km\/h.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome travel delays are likely,\u201d the alert reads. \u201cDriving conditions will likely be difficult. Heavy rain may cause flash flooding and significant reductions to visibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake immediate cover if a thunderstorm approaches. If outside, protect yourself from flying debris and hail. When thunder roars, go indoors. Lightning kills and injures Canadians every year. Don\u2019t drive through flooded roadways. Avoid low-lying areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of Edmonton homes in the Holyrood, Idylwylde, and King Edward Park neighbourhoods lost power around 1 p.m., according to Epcor\u2019s outages map<\/a>. Power there was restored by 3 p.m. As of 6:45 p.m., only a handful of houses remained without power.<\/p>\n

Flooding, closures<\/p>\n

This latest storm comes two days after Edmonton was battered by a storm<\/a> of torrential rain and hail on Saturday evening, leading to flooding, road closures, outages, submerged vehicles and downed trees. It was yet another downpour during the city\u2019s wettest summer on record.<\/p>\n

Crews were working Monday to reopen roads while clearing trees, debris and water. Yellowhead Trail, Whitemud Drive and Groat Road have all reopened.<\/p>\n

\"\"Car seen near a flooded overpass by Whitemud and 159 Street after heavy rains on July 25, 2026 (CityNews)<\/p>\n

Some road closures remain in effect: 130 Avenue and 107 Street, as well as Connors Road and 98 Avenue.<\/p>\n

Some venues were closed: Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre, Telus World of Science, and the Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton Park.<\/p>\n

A downed tree on the tracks near Strathearn halted the Valley Line service between Holyrood and Muttart on Monday afternoon. Trains were operational between Muttart and 102 Street, and from Holyrood to Mill Woods.<\/p>\n

A bus replacement was running between Bonnie Doon and downtown. <\/p>\n

\u2018Trees on houses\u2019<\/p>\n

Edmontonians are urged to report broken, hanging and downed trees to 311.<\/p>\n

There have been 341 calls since Saturday evening for storm-related tree issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaturday night we got a ton of rain in a very short amount of time, and so Monday morning we are dealing with trees on houses, and trees on various structures and getting to people as soon as we can,\u201d said Jamieson Melnyk, operations manager at Alberta Arborists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very large multi-stem willow that\u2019s against someone\u2019s house right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have a tree that falls on your house, your property, or just in your area, Melnyk says one should deal with the hazard first, and then the insurance.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake pictures, do what you got to do for insurance, but first call a professional. Removing trees yourself can go sideways very quickly. Call someone with experience in rigging and climbing and knows how to use equipment correctly,\u201d Melnyk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a lot of calls for trees that are stone-cold dead. And dead tree wood is always more dangerous to the homeowner, more dangerous to the climber. So before it gets to that point, that\u2019s when you want to start calling for tree work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melnyk adds the amount of calls after the storm is particularly high. \u201cWe are not just getting storm damage calls, we\u2019ve also received calls from people worried about their trees asking for an assessment or a recommendation, that\u2019s what I have seen a notable uptick in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The City of Edmonton says residents with elm trees on their property should pick up and remove fallen branches immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cFallen elm wood provides habitat for the beetles that spread Dutch elm disease. Elm wood should be burned immediately, where permitted, or taken to the Edmonton Waste Management Centre for free disposal,\u201d the city advised.<\/p>\n

\u2018Geyser coming up from the ground\u2019<\/p>\n

Back-to-back storms proved challenging for Edmonton Christmas charity \u201cSanta\u2019s Anonymous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The charity shared dramatic video of its warehouse being flooded due to a massive water leak.<\/p>\n

Santa\u2019s Anonymous has been having issues with water in the building since the spring. And like a lot of Edmontonians, it was just recovering from Saturday\u2019s storm when a new set of problems arose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had what seemed to be like geyser coming up from the ground,\u201d said Janine Foote, the group\u2019s engagement manager. \u201cAnd it\u2019s actually the second time that it\u2019s happened here. We had it happen on Saturday night as well. We caught it on our security camera and realized what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The charity\u2019s parking lot was also completely underwater, with Foote\u2019s vehicle now stuck in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to pull into the parking lot and I drowned my SUV,\u201d she said. \u201cSo hopefully that will still start at some point. But we\u2019re going to have to get it pushed out and dried out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post Malone rained out<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s rain also led to a flood of concert and event cancellations \u2014 from a Post Malone concert at Commonwealth Stadium to KDays.<\/p>\n

According to Environment Canada, nearly 30 millimetres of rain fell between 9-10 p.m. Saturday in the Blatchford area. During that time, wind speeds averaged nearly 40 km\/h, and the maximum wind speed was 84 km\/h.<\/p>\n

The \u201cPostie\u201d concert was officially cancelled due to damage to the stage, seating and production, the city said. Concert-goers were asked to shelter-in-place inside the stadium. No injuries were reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety of fans, staff, crew and artists is of utmost importance,\u201d the city said in a news release Monday. \u201cStaff used stadium audio messaging and the jumbotron screen to ask attendees to leave their seats and move into sheltered areas of the stadium. The concourse can accommodate the 31,000 fans who were at the concert.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe gates were also opened for fans who chose to leave the venue. All stadium emergency protocols were followed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Full refunds were granted to ticketholders, the city adds.<\/p>\n

The City of Edmonton has received 511 millimetres of rain over June and July. The typical monthly average in summer is between 70 and 80 millimetres.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of the City of Edmonton\u2019s infrastructure has withstood this summer\u2019s record-breaking rainfall,\u201d the city said. \u201cPermanent drainage infrastructure currently being built across major projects will protect key corridors against 1-in-100-year storm events once complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cEPCOR is rolling out a 20-year, $1.6-billion flood mitigation plan to strengthen Edmonton\u2019s resilience to future flooding.\u201d<\/p>\n

City officials add they will be asking the province for financial help under the hazard assistance and resilience program, with the city hoping to recoup what it says is $26 million in insurable damage.<\/p>\n

\u2013With files from Darcy Ropchan and Carly Robinson<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tRain drops hit a puddle of water. (Credit: Alex Dukhanov on Unsplash) <\/p>\n

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

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