Alberta's Weather Forecast Is Calling For Severe Storms & There Could Be A 'Tornado Threat'

As if the weather in Alberta couldn't be any more confusing with tornadoes to heat waves, more severe storms are expected to hit the province this week, bringing hail and strong winds.

According to The Weather Network (TWN), more storms could be on the way with risks of tornadoes and large hail on Wednesday, July 13.

The reason for this is that a "slow-moving ridge of high pressure" is heading from the U.S. toward the western Prairies, bringing heat and humidity as well as a storm track caused by a cold front developing in northern Alberta that is moving across the province.

While things won't cool down too much, "hot, unstable air" and the cold front will be "thunderstorm fuel," TWN said.

"With the hot temperatures present, there will be a bit of a cap to contend with, however, the cold front should provide enough lift for some storms to break through that cap late afternoon and continue into the evening," said Kelly Sonnenburg, a meteorologist at TWN.

The main areas of concern will be near Calgary and north along the QE2 toward Red Deer in the afternoon. Environment Canada has put out a severe thunderstorm watch for towns and cities in the region.

Storms that develop will head east into the evening toward the provincial border.

"Strong to locally damaging wind gusts would be the main threat along with large hail that could reach up to golf ball-sized in some of the strongest storms," Sonnenburg added.

"Supercells and rotating storms are also possible and most likely in the regions east of Red Deer and Calgary. If storms begin to rotate, we will need to keep an eye on the tornado threat."

As well as watching for storms, there are still heat warnings in effect for much of southern Alberta too.