A tornado warning was issued for a rural area southeast of Brooks, where a severe thunderstorm was sweeping across the region Tuesday afternoon.

At 3:00 p.m., Environment Canada meteorologists said they were tracking a severe thunderstorm that is possibly producing a tornado.

The thunderstorm was moving across a rural area between Brooks, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge. As of publishing, it was located just south of Tilley and moving to the southeast at 40 km/h. Communities in the path include Ralston and Suffield.

The warning via an Alberta Emergency Alert was issued for the County of of Newell near Tilley and Rolling Hills, and 10 minutes later expanded to include Cypress County near Suffield and Hwy 879.

Damaging winds, large hail and locally intense rainfall were also possible.

This is a very dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation, Environment Canada said.

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Tornado warnings are issued when a thunderstorm is producing or is likely to produce a tornado.

Action to take:

• Take cover immediately in a basement, interior room, or a sturdy shelter when threatening weather approaches
• If no shelter is available, lie in a low spot and protect your head from flying debris
• If you are out on the water when threatening weather approaches, return to shore and seek shelter, if possible
• Otherwise, move away from the path of the tornado to escape
• Wear your lifejacket, lie face down and protect your head

The storm comes after a severe thunderstorm watch was issued Tuesday morning for much of southern Alberta.

Environment Canada said conditions were favourable for the development of severe storms in the afternoon and evening that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts, large hail and heavy rain, as well as a chance of tornadoes.

Environment Canada says wind gusts of up to 80 kilometres per hour are also possible in the Lethbridge and Medicine Hat areas — and may be strong enough to damage trees, buildings and overturn vehicles.

There have been at least 10 tornadoes in Alberta this year so far, all the southern portion of the province, but The Northern Tornado Project and Environment Canada said they were all landspouts, not supercell twisters, and didn’t cause any damage.

This is a breaking news story. More to come…

With files from Ken MacGillivray, Global News

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