Jason Telenko and his son enjoyed taking in Post Malone’s concert at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night. Then the storm blew in. “It was a little freaky, actually, because we watched it roll across the back here,” he told CTV News Edmonton the next day. “It looked like it was going to pass, but then all of a sudden, it just got black on that side. It was just dark, dark, dark.” The severe thunderstorm moved over the Edmonton area around 9 p.m., dropping almost 30 millimetres of rain on the city over a two-hour period. Between 9-10 p.m., winds at a central Edmonton weather station averaged 39 kilometres per hour, according to Environment Canada data. Telenko, who lives across the seat from the 58,000-seat venue in central Edmonton, got out of the stadium and into his house, eventually sheltering up to 40 people from the heavy rain. “The water came right up onto our lawn,” he said. “This whole area was flooded, and we used every towel in our house, every blanket, because we had to lie stuff down on the hardwood floor. People were just dripping (wet).” The storm forced the stoppage and eventual cancellation of the Post Malone’s show as well as several other major events Saturday. Crews across Edmonton spent Sunday clearing roads, debris and water after a severe Saturday night thunderstorm descended upon the city. A spokesperson for the City of Edmonton said late Sunday morning that the storm, which brought intense winds and heavy rainfall, resulted in several reports of power outages, localized flooding and downed trees. Major roads such as Yellowhead Trail and Whitemud Drive saw flooding Saturday night and are now cleared, while crews continue to work to clear others such as northbound Groat Road from River Valley Road to 107 Avenue and Connors Road at the 98 Avenue bridge, both of which have been reduced to one lane. Andrea Edel attended the Post Malone show and described the pandemonium as the crowd fled the heavy rain and flashes of lightning in the sky. She said many people were trying to access the indoor concessions areas on the east and west sides of the stadium. “Think of thousands of people in that stadium trying to flee into one small area on both sides. Tt was a disaster,” she said of the “scary” scene. “We finally made our way up there, and it just got worse from there. The crowd grew, kids were screaming, people crying, fights starting, and people pushing.” Several videos shared to social media from the Commonwealth concert showed spectators, who were told to seek shelter in the concourse, leaving the seating areas en masse as rain fell heavily. Underneath the stands, rain swept in to drench the crowd further. The crowd watching baseball’s Edmonton Riverhawks play the Kelowna Falcons, too, relocated to the concourse, some watching the storm from underneath the canopy at the top of the grandstand. Those attending the KDays summer exhibition and midway vacated the grounds for the Edmonton Expo Centre to shelter from the downpour and lightning. People can report service disruptions or issues to the city via the 311 service both online and on the phone. City utility provider Epcor said Saturday night several parts of Edmonton experienced power outages. On Sunday afternoon, Epcor was reporting 19 different outages, mostly on the east side of the city. Affected areas include Casselman, York, Delwood, Belvedere, Balwin and Montrose in the city’s northeast; Forest Heights, Holyrood, Idylwylde and King Edward Park in the southeast; as well as Strathcona, Parkview, Laurier Heights and Sherbrooke. Edmonton residents can report service disruptions or issues to the city via the 311 service online, by phone and via mobile app. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Noah Rishaug
