“It was like being in a war zone. Everything was destroyed,” he said. “All the trees are down. My tractor tent blown up, my horse shelters blown away. What else can I say?” Mounties said a tornado leveled one home and severely damaged four others southeast of Sudre, Alta., as violent weather Thursday brought thunderstorms and tornadoes to southern Alberta. Police said no one was seriously injured, although one person suffered minor injuries. In an initial summary released by Environment and Climate Change Canada at 11:29 am. on Friday, the weather service confirmed that a tornado touched down near Bergen. The first report of a tornado was received around 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Severe weather in Alberta on Thursday caused severe property damage, with Mounties saying a tornado leveled one home and severely damaged four others southeast of Sudre. (Kyle Brittain/The Weather Network) Maximum wind gusts reached 104 kilometers per hour, according to Environment Canada, and hail up to five centimeters was reported in some areas. Persaud said his main concern was the safety of his animals as they were the only ones on the property at the time. And despite what happened, he feels he is the “luckiest man alive”. “Everyone is safe, no one is injured. The house is still standing,” he said. “I don’t know how that would happen…someone is watching you. I don’t know how you say that.” Thomas Morgan, who also lives in the area, said he noticed a “big old black cloud” on Thursday that formed into a huge cloud and led to torrential rain. “I came out here last night to see the damage and, oh boy, it’s unbelievable,” Morgan said. “A lot of work for people to do now.” The Weather Network’s Kyle Brittain captured this photo of downed trees in the wake of Thursday’s extreme weather across the province. (Kyle Brittain/The Weather Network) Nearby, Rod Geggie said his property was not hit – but only a few kilometers away he could see where the storm had passed. “It just blew and knocked everything down, like matchsticks, knocked everything down. Like I say, we’re really lucky,” he said. Kyle Brittain, the Alberta bureau chief for The Weather Network, told CBC News the province is in peak tornado season. It tends to last until July. He said Alberta typically sees about 15 tornadoes a year. Environment Canada had issued a number of tornado and thunderstorm warnings around central and southern Alberta on Thursday, though most had been lifted by Friday morning. Some storm watches remained in effect for communities such as Airdrie, Sundre and Cochrane as of 10:30 a.m. of Friday.
