Stay informed with the LNN Daily Newsletter

Tornado spotted near Nanton as central, northern Alberta braces for snow

Sep 12, 2018 | 6:22 AM

ALBERTA – While snow begins to fall in parts of central and northern Alberta, Environment Canada is looking into reports of a landspout tornado near Nanton.

During the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 11, a report from an observer 2 km west of Nanton described a tornado to the west, towards Pekisko. The weather service is asking people with pictures of the tornado or damage reports to send them in.

A landspout is a weak tornado that forms under a rapidly-growing thunderstorm. It is capable of blowing around objects, damaging roofs, and knocking over trees.

At the same time, a snowfall warning is in effect from Jasper north to Grande Prairie. Those areas could receive 10-15 cm of heavy, wet snow Wednesday, Sept. 12. The system bringing the snow will track south along the foothills, and then spread east towards Edmonton, which could get 3-8 cm.

The snow could reach as far south as Banff by Thursday morning. No snow is expected in the southern Alberta region, but Lethbridge could see showers or thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.