Power restored to thousands, streets reopened after Friday's severe storm
More than 13,000 Epcor customers lost electricity as the city recovers from a thunderstorm that hit Friday evening.
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Power has been restored to most of Edmonton and major streets have reopened after a severe thunderstorm swept through Friday evening, July 10, leaving thousands without electricity and forcing temporary road closures.
The storm hit the city's west and north sides hardest around 7:30 p.m., dumping 30 millimetres of rain between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the Blatchford area. The downpour downed trees, caused flooding, and knocked out power across the city.
More than 13,000 Epcor customers lost electricity due to the storm, an Epcor spokesperson said Saturday morning. Crews worked overnight to restore power as quickly as possible. By 11:30 a.m. Saturday, the company's outage map showed just one outage remaining in the west end, affecting almost 115 customers.
The Edmonton Police Service issued an advisory Friday night as flooding forced Yellowhead Trail to close from 66th Street to 121st Street, and downed trees shut down 97th Street to southbound traffic from 111th Avenue to 118th Avenue. Both roads had reopened by Saturday morning, an EPS spokesperson confirmed.
Environment Canada had issued several tornado and thunderstorm warnings west of the city earlier Friday, and the agency has issued numerous tornado warnings throughout Alberta this week. A tornado touched down Wednesday in Dillberry Lake Provincial Park in eastern Alberta, sending three people to hospital.
