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Alberta Beach Ice: Strong Winds Force Floes Into Homes And Garages On Lac Ste. Anne (PHOTOS)

LOOK: The Power Of A Prairie Wind Storm
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Never underestimate how dangerous and strong Alberta's prairie winds can be.

Dozens of fences, boathouses and sheds lining the shore at Alberta Beach were knocked down Tuesday, thanks to aggressive, driving ice.

Driving winds pushed partially melted snow and ice floes off the lake and into the yards (and homes) of people living on Lac Ste. Anne.

Story continues below the slideshow

Aggressive Ice On Alberta Beach

“You could hear the crinkling of the ice because it’s all broken up… I don’t know how to describe it; it just kind of smashed along. It wasn’t big or booming, it was just like ice falling,” Alberta Beach resident Scott Morrison told Global Calgary.

“The wind was still howling, so I couldn’t get out there to do anything because the ice was still moving, so I just let it do its thing.”

Approximately 40 properties sustained damage, reports CBC Edmonton - with some ice climbing shed walls as high as the roof.

"The lake had a lot of ice and the wind helped to jam that ice into the community," AccuWeather Expert Canada Forecaster Brett Anderson said.

"It is pretty unusual to have that much ice pile up from a wind event like this."

AccuWeather said Lac St. Anne had more ice accumulation than normal, following a cold winter.

Alberta Beach is located approximately 60 km west of Edmonton.

Watch the video below, taken in 2009, to see how quickly the ice can move off Lac Ste. Anne.

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