Big Hill Springs Provincial Park, AB F0 Tornado of July 9, 1986

Airdrie - Cochrane - Olds - Sundre


Figure 1 depicts the surface observations at 12:00 pm MDT, which shows a stationary front across Alberta. This front became the focus for thunderstorm activity, which ultimately resulted in three tornadoes. The other tornadoes that occurred on this day were:

Figure 1. Surface analysis at 21Z on July 9, 1986 showing mean sea-level pressure (MSLP) contours, surface observations, fronts and pressure centres (WPC, 2017)

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (2018), an F0 tornado touched down at 2:30 pm MDT near Big Hill Springs Provincial Park, AB. The path and width of the tornado was not documented by ECCC.


Sources

NWS Weather Prediction Center Surface Analysis Archive. (2017). Surface analysis 18Z Wed Jul 9 1986. Retrieved from: https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/archives/web_pages/sfc/sfc_archive.php

Environment and Climate Change Canada Data. (2018). Canadian National Tornado Database: Verified Events (1980-2009) – Public. Retrieved from: http://donnees.ec.gc.ca/data/weather/products/canadian-national-tornado-database-verified-events-1980-2009-public/