For Edmontonians, July 31, 1987, will always be remembered as “Black Friday.”
Around 3 p.m. that day, a dark funnel cloud touched down in southeast Edmonton. As it cut a 37-kilometre swath of destruction through the eastern part of the city, eyewitnesses described a roaring sound “like a freight train” as 400 kilometre-per-hour winds exploded buildings and tossed cars around like toys.
By the time the F4 tornado dissipated an hour later, it had left 27 people dead, 600 injured, 300 homes destroyed, and $181 million in damage
The Tornado wasn’t the only freak weather incident in Edmonton that week. Over the three days, more than 300 mm of rain flooded the region, causing four major rivers to rise by as much as eight metres. Tennis ball-sized hailstones pelted the western part of the city.
After the disaster, Alberta developed the emergency public warning system, which eventually became the Alberta Emergency Alert System that can be transmitted to cellphones, TV and Radio.
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