Whitemud Drive flooded and shut down after severe Saturday night storm

A severe thunderstorm Saturday night dumped so much rain on west Edmonton that Whitemud Drive shut down completely between 156 Street and 178 Street, forcing drivers to turn around on the one-way freeway.

Geysers of water shot from manholes along the freeway, and several underpasses flooded. The 170 Street underpass became so deep that firefighters deployed to help people stuck on the embankment between the northbound and southbound bridges. Three vehicles became stuck at the eastbound 170 Street off-ramp, where water collected around two feet deep.

The storm also swamped roads across Edmonton. Emergency crews responded to flooding on Yellowhead Trail from 82 Street to 156 Street, Jasper Avenue from 82 Street to 92 Street, and 97 Street where it dips under an old rail bridge. Police asked drivers to avoid the area around Commonwealth Stadium and the Expo Centre, including 112 Avenue from Wayne Gretzky Drive to 97 Street.

Environment Canada had warned the storm could produce damaging wind gusts, loonie- to ping pong ball-size hail, and heavy rain. The storm cell stretched from Barrhead in the north to Leduc in the south and was moving east at 45 km/h, with a risk of tornadoes.

Emergency dispatch began experiencing an exceptionally high volume of 911 calls. For non-emergency matters, people were asked to call the EPS non-emergency line at 780-423-4567 or #377.