Tornado warning swept southeast Alberta Tuesday afternoon
Environment Canada issued critical red warnings for Cypress County, Medicine Hat and Redcliff as a severe thunderstorm possibly producing a tornado moved southeast at 65 km/h.
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Parts of southeastern Alberta were under a critical "red" tornado warning Tuesday afternoon as Environment Canada tracked a severe thunderstorm possibly producing a tornado.
The warning covered Cypress County, Medicine Hat and Redcliff. The storm was located 10 kilometres west of Medicine Hat and moving southeast at 65 kilometres per hour, the federal weather agency said.
A "red" warning is the most severe on Environment Canada's scale and is issued when conditions are considered very dangerous and potentially life-threatening. The agency warned of damaging winds, large hail and locally intense rainfall.
Residents in affected areas were urged to take cover immediately in a basement or interior room of a sturdy shelter. Much of the rest of southern Alberta, including Calgary and Lethbridge, remained under a yellow severe thunderstorm watch. By 4:11 p.m., the red warning had been downgraded to an orange thunderstorm watch.