Severe thunderstorm floods roads in Calgary

A severe thunderstorm brought flash flooding and heavy hail to Calgary on Friday evening.

Multiple prominent roadways, including 17th Avenue S.W., saw vehicles attempting to traverse pooling water.

Calgary police said they had received multiple reports of flash flooding and hazardous driving conditions across the city, advising motorists to avoid driving and exercise "extreme caution" if travel is necessary.

Environment Canada issued severe thunderstorm warnings across southern Alberta on Friday, but the warnings were cancelled in Calgary by 8:18 p.m. MT.

WATCH | Flash flooding in Calgary:

Flash flooding fills southwest Calgary roads

3 years ago

Duration 0:15

Multiple roads, including 17th Avenue S.W., saw flash flooding on Friday night as severe thunderstorm hit Calgary.

The weather agency warned that such storms are capable of causing water pooling on roads and of producing toonie- to ping-pong ball-sized hail, heavy rain and strong wind gusts.

Large hail can also cause property damage, the weather agency said, also warning that such storms can produce tornadoes.

At 8:40 p.m., warnings remain in place for these communities:

• Brooks.
• Claresholm.
• Drumheller.
• Okotoks.
• Red Deer.
• Strathmore.
• Stettler.
• Three Hills.
• Vulcan.

The extent of the damage from Friday's hail and flooding is likely to be unclear for some time. But Calgary is no stranger to summer storms.

In July 2020, a massive hailstorm hit Calgary and cost at least $1.2 billion in insured damages. That made it the fourth costliest natural disaster in Canada's history, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

Calgary is a hot spot for severe weather. Its location — settled between high-elevation winds from the mountains, cold winds from the north and humidity from the south — is the perfect combination.

"If you had to pick a place in the country that's going to have this kind of weather, it's Calgary," Shawn Marshall, a climatology expert from the University of Calgary, told CBC News last year.