Max rating Start date July 14, 2000 | Areas affected Green Acres Campground Number of casualties 12 | |
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Formed July 14, 2000 7:00 p.m. MDT Highest winds 300 km/h (190 mph; 160 kn) Damage $13 million($17.3 million in 2017 dollars) Similar Edmonton tornado, Regina Cyclone, 1946 Windsor–Tecumseh tornado, December 2000 Tuscaloo, 1985 United States–C |
Channel6 ca news this day in history rdtv pine lake tornado story 1
The Pine Lake tornado was a deadly tornado in central Alberta which occurred on July 14, 2000 and struck a campground and a trailer park. Twelve people were killed, making it the first deadly tornado in Canada since 1987, when an F4 tornado killed 27 people in Edmonton Alberta and injured 300+.
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Summary

On July 14, 2000 at approximately 7:00 PM, an F3 tornado tore through the Green Acres Campground at Pine Lake in central Alberta, killing 12 people and critically injuring more than 100 others. Pine Lake is a recreational area approximately 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Red Deer, Alberta and 150 km (93 mi) northeast of the city of Calgary. The tornado formed out of a severe thunderstorm which formed on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies and moved rapidly eastward, encountering a narrow band of low-level moisture that caused it to develop into a supercell thunderstorm. It touched down about 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the campground and was on the ground for approximately 20 km (12 mi).

Damage occurred in a swath 800 to 1,500 metres (0.50 to 0.93 mi) wide. The heaviest damage occurred in a 500 metres (0.31 mi) central corridor. Damage assessment suggests that winds within the central corridor reached 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph). In addition, Weather Watchers reported hail as large as baseballs.

An average of 16 tornadoes occur in Alberta every year, and an average of 41 tornadoes occur each year in the Prairie Provinces. The highest death toll due to a single tornado in Alberta occurred on July 31, 1987, colloquially referred to as Black Friday. Canada ranks second in the world for tornado occurrences after the United States.
Chronology

