Edmonton and Calgary are drying out and cleaning up after a powerful overnight storm produced lots of rain in one city and destructive winds in another.
Drivers trapped in a flooded underpass on Edmonton's Yellowhead Trail had to climb onto their car roofs when about 40 millimetres of rain in one hour caused the street to fill up with water.
According to the Edmonton Journal, firefighters responded to 18 calls for help just after 11 p.m. last night, when runoff overwhelmed storm drains in several areas along the major northside artery.
Traffic problems lingered in the area this morning, according to the Journal, as stranded vehicles waited for a tow.
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Several homeowners in the area also had flooded basements.
According to Global News, several residents in Edmonton's Evansdale neighbourhood watched as their basements filled with water in less than 20 minutes.
"I just ran from house to house, trying to get everybody up and checking out their basements and getting anything lifted up off their flood that might be some value," resident Margie Balaneski told Global.
In Calgary, a brief but powerful storm brought down power lines and toppled trees that blocked roads and damaged vehicles.
According to CTV Calgary, southern parts of the city experienced extensive damage, including lightning strikes that hit the roof of three homes in MacKenzie Towne.
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Investigators are currently trying to determine if it was a lightning strike that set Jayne Lacerte's home on fire.
Lacerte came home Thursday even to find her townhouse in the 10,000 block of 19th Street S.W. ablaze, reports the Calgary Herald.
"We've lost everything except our lives, which I'm grateful for. I've still got my husband and my two kids."
With files from the Canadian Press