VE6AB Mobile Ops
Alberta Plains Storm Watch
Summer in Alberta means afternoon thunderstorms and today was no different.
Thunderstorms in Alberta are formed over the Rockies to the west before moving out over the plains to the east where they can release their wrath on fields like this barley field on the left, and the field of canola on the right.
Of course thunderstorms can be and are very destructive over populated areas also, causing major flooding from downpours, and hail from pea sized to golf ball size can do a number on cars and houses with windows broken if the hail is large enough or driven by the wind.
As this particular cell formed with warm moist air moving upward, and then as it cools and condenses, it is forming cumulonimbus clouds that are possibly reaching heights of over 20 km.
The warmed air of this thunderstorm has reached an area of warmer air and cannot rise any farther, and the air has been forced to spread out giving the storm the characteristic anvil shape of a mature thunderstorm.
This thunderstorm developed into a supercell with the result being warnings for the possibility of tornados being spawned, with rotating cloud formations spotted close to the ground in the areas of Crossfield and Carstairs.
I spent some time skirting the edges of the storm northeast of Airdrie while I shot photos of it, however I managed to get caught up in the edge of it with the result my being peppered with pea sized hail as seen in the insert photo that I shot out the open window while pulled over on an approach.
Although there were rotating cloud formations close to the ground, in the end no tornados were formed although areas further north were hit with major downpours with large hail causing major damage.
Click on the photo for a closer look....
