On July 14, 2000 at approximately7 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 southeast of Red Deer, Alberta and northeast of the city ofCalgary. 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 west of the campground and was on the ground for approximately. Damage occurred in a swath wide. The heaviest damage occurred in a central corridor. Damage assessment suggests that winds within the central corridor reached. 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.
6:18 PM MDT – watch upgraded to a severe thunderstorm warning, indicating that a thunderstorm with potentially large hail, very heavy rain, intense lightning and dangerous winds had developed.
7:00 PM MDT – the tornado destroys a number of recreational vehicles in the Green Acres Campground on the western shore of Pine Lake. 12 people are killed and more than 100 critically injured.
7:05 PM MDT – RCMP notify Environment Canada that a tornado had just been reported at Pine Lake. The severe thunderstorm warning was immediately upgraded to a tornado warning.
After 7:05 PM MDT – Warnings and watches were continued through the evening hours. In all, more than 40 watches and warnings were issued for Alberta and Saskatchewan as the storm crossed the provincial boundary.
