Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Tłı̨chǫ region, upgrading an earlier forecast that called for a chance of “impactful storms.”
Just before 4pm, meteorologists said they were “tracking a severe thunderstorm capable of producing very strong wind gusts, nickel to ping-pong ball-size hail and heavy rain.”
The federal agency said the storm was 100 km southeast of Gamètì and 100 km northeast of Behchokǫ̀ as of 3:45pm, but was moving southeast at 55 km/h.
The storm could pass well clear of any communities, but residents were urged to monitor alerts and forecasts.
On Wednesday morning, forecasters had warned that storms bringing large hailstones and gusts of up to 80 km/h could develop in the vicinity of Yellowknife and the Tłı̨chǫ communities later in the day.
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In a tweet, Environment Canada said there was a “chance of impactful thunderstorms” in the region.
Yellowknife was on the southern edge of the area in which forecasters believed storms could develop, but all four Tłı̨chǫ communities sat squarely within an area of “moderate weather threat.”
“Primary threats are large hail, strong wind gusts, and locally heavy rain,” the federal department tweeted.
A more detailed forecast was provided in the online thunderstorm outlook from ECCC’s storm prediction centres.
