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Conditions favourable for funnel clouds in parts of Central Alberta

Sunny, warmer temperatures planned for later this week
12582534_web1_11235641_web1_Weather_RainAlert

Look up to the sky and you may see the development of funnel clouds in and around parts of Central Alberta and over towards the Saskatchewan border.

A weather advisory is in effect from Environment Canada as conditions will be favourable for the development of funnel clouds this afternoon and possibly into the evening.

“These are the types of situations where they do not normally reach down to the ground or we do not have a tornado in contact with the ground,” said Dan Kulak, meteorologist with Environment Canada based in Edmonton.

He added that these particular funnel clouds are caused in situations where there is a cool day combined with a fair amount of sunshine in the area.

“The key thing being the cool day with bright sunshine and some humidity which combines to a rapidly developing storm, which can create these funnel clouds,” he said.

After this cooler air moves through, Central Alberta will be seeing warmer temperatures, with Red Deer reaching a high of 31 on Friday and then back down to 22 on Saturday.

“Those are the days when you start thinking about the possibility of a bit more significant weather like the larger hail and the stronger winds, the typical Central Alberta July thunderstorm events that can cause some damage.”